To Catch a Blue Bird
by Kellie Fay
Summary: Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side. But some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?
1. Prologue: Sonic In the Heart of Darkness

To Catch a Blue Bird

By Kellie Fay

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side. But some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

**Prologue:** Sonic In the heart of darkness.

Sonic woke up to pitch blackness and dead quiet except for the frantic beating of his own heart.

_Sonic, Sonic wake up it is all right, it was just a nightmare._

With one final deep breath Cosmo's words finally penetrated the fear that held the blue hedgehog in its grip. "Same as the other times?" He asked into the empty air knowing that Cosmo could hear him through his thoughts and the five Star Trees that grew less than ten feet from his own home.

_I'm afraid so,_ the little Seedrian answered. _Your own mind keeps blocking the images. I can tell that you were dreaming, but I can't tell you what you were dreaming of. Only that you cried out that it wasn't you._

Annoyed Sonic let out a sigh, and got out of the bed. Reaching over to the shelf containing his post adventure treasures, he tapped gently his personal Chaos Emerald, the one the color of a summer sky. The energy flowed into him easily making him feel like the sun's energy ran up his arm and straight to his heart. With the ease of breathing Sonic sent the energy back into the emerald asking simply for light. When given a choice he preferred this emerald over the darker royal blue one. The emerald responding to his thoughts and energies gave off a soft hazy light. He looked out his open window in the direction of his little grove of Star Trees. Shaking his head he said, "I don't remember anything. How is it that I can remember being terrified, but can't remember what scared me half to death?"

_My people always said that our minds are deep and mysterious full of both light and darkness. I think that Tails is right, and you should go visit the Sorcerous Cobbler._

Sonic winced. He had that argument with Tails earlier, and didn't want to rehash it. "If you knew anything about kitsune magic users you wouldn't say that, and Tails doesn't count." He snapped. Tails had to have put her up to that.

Cosmo didn't allow Sonic to dismiss the idea though, _"I don't understand why you do not wish to go see her. Tails trusts her, and you told me you trust her too. You trusted her with Shadow, but not yourself?"_

"Of course I trust her. She trusted me with her most prized possession," Sonic said pushing away from the window. "It's just that she's old, and I don't want to bother her about something as stupid as a nightmare."

_I think you do not wish to see this sorcerous because she will make you face the something you are hiding from yourself. That is why you cannot remember the nightmares, and I cannot reach you when you have them. _

"I am NOT going to go see Cobbler, Cosmo, end of discussion," Sonic said crossly. He shut the window, and pulled a bottle of juice from his ice box. Sitting down at the table he took a good long swig at the bottle, and then asked into the air. "So what's the current count now?"

With a mental sigh Cosmo answered, _three this week alone, five over the last fortnight, and fifteen over the last two months. Sonic, you are no longer getting enough rest to compensate for the lack of sleep, and it is beginning to show._

Finishing his juice Sonic dumped the bottle into his recycle bin, and went to pick up the light blue Chaos Emerald. "I'm fine. I can just absorb extra energy later when the sun comes up. I'll be okay." He absorbed some energy from his emerald to get rid of the fuzzy fatigued feeling in his mind. "I'm going out for a run," he said with his trademark smile tucking the emerald into his quills. "Maybe that will clear the cobwebs out of my head enough to be able to catch a few Z's before dawn. I'll check in when I get back." With that Sonic raced out of his home into the forest.

Pulling her influence back into her central tree Cosmo felt slightly frustrated. Of course she would report the dream to Tails, but even though he would gently advise Sonic to go see the old kitsune he would not insist on it. He even knew and agreed with Cosmo on why Sonic refused to entertain the idea of visiting her. _Of course he doesn't want to go see Cobbler. She will make him face that part of his mind that he's hiding from himself. He knows it. He's just not ready to face it yet. If he gets much worse I'll arrange for Knuckles and Shadow to kidnap him and drag him there, but I'd like Sonic to decide to go himself. _

Cosmo sought out her friend's sleeping mind, and gently called him soul to soul pulling him into this place other sprits here called the dreamscape. _Tails,_ She said gently when the little kitsune's dream form materialized. _I need to talk to you. Sonic had another nightmare. _


	2. Shadow: The Challenge

To Catch a Blue Bird

By Kellie Fay

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side. But some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

Special thanks to ShinyShiny9 for her Review! I hope it will be exciting but it's going to take a bit to get back to Sonic. First we deal with a challenge.

**Chapter 1:** Shadow: The Challenge:

There were few things that could make Shadow the Hedgehog break into a smile: Cosmo laughing at Sonic was one of them, (actually anyone laughing at Sonic.) Knuckles chasing Rouge was another. Most of the time Shadow would find time to smile at some momentary flash of wild beauty; a sunset, a tree in full bloom, or a nest full of newly hatched flickys. Any of those could surprise Shadow, and cause his constant frown to vanish for a few seconds.

At the moment, that frown, deeply etched into his features, tried to puzzle out the tangle Cream and Cheese made out of the kite string. "And why did you bring this puzzle to me?" he asked, "doesn't Tails usually help you with puzzles?"

"Tails went away to the big city to buy some parts for his machines," Cream said. "I haven't seen Amy and Sonic all day. Amy got a new perfume the other day, and she wanted to show Sonic."

"Which means Amy is hunting, and Sonic is hiding," Shadow said, trying to suppress the grin that played across his face. Amy chasing Sonic not only put a grin on his face every time, but the rest of the little circle of Sonic's friends also.

Cream giggled outright Cheese the chao, her constant companion, joined in the chuckle. "I didn't think of that. Of course Sonic is hiding from Amy if she's looking for him." Cream then sighed, and looked back in the direction of the village. "I wish Amy understood that Sonic doesn't like it when she's so bossy. He doesn't mind hanging out with her, and having fun, but when she won't let go of him, and tries to force him to do things he doesn't like, all Sonic wants to do is get away from her."

Shadow shook his head. "It amazes me that even at your age you can clearly see that which Amy refuses to see, even when it is shoved in her face."

Cream nodded, "Amy wants Sonic to be something he's really not. She wants him to marry her, and stay at home, and he doesn't want to stay in one place. Sonic likes to travel around, and see new things."

"I agree," Shadow said working out a particularly tricky knot. It would have been easier to just blast the string into pieces, but that would have ended Cream's kite flying. "Sonic is at least mature enough to understand who he is, and how he doesn't fit Amy's idea of a perfect husband, but all she knows is what she wants, and right now she wants Sonic."

Cream nodded, and Cheese made some sad little chirps. "It's really sad when everyone gets upset when Amy is angry at Sonic. He's just being himself, and Amy wants him to be what she wants him to be."

Shadow almost had the knot free. "The problem with Amy issssss - Ahh there we go. The problem with Amy is that she only sees what she wants to see, not what is really there. If we want more peace between the two we have to find a way to get Amy to see Sonic for what he really is, and not the image she has of him." He handed Cream her kite. "Now be careful where you fly that thing. I can't be spending all day untangling your kite string. See if Espio or Vector will take you by the beach."

Cream nodded. "Thank you Shadow!" she said then she added, "You know we tell Amy all the time why Sonic runs away from her, but she just doesn't understand."

"More like she refuses to see it, because what you are saying is contrary to what she wants." Shadow explained. "The only way Amy would understand what you keep telling her, is to make her see it for herself."

Cream flopped one ear over her eye and looked at Shadow puzzled. "Could you do that?"

Shadow gave the girl a speculative glance. "You would want me to manipulate your friends like that?"

Cream and Cheese looked up at him with complete trust in their eyes. "You wouldn't do anything to hurt Amy and Sonic. Even though you act like you don't like them they are your friends, and I know you want them to be happy."

Shadow tried to scowl at the girl, but the knowing look in her chao's eyes made Shadow want to smile. "You are too perceptive for your own good," he told her. Cream didn't appear to take the warning to heart, and just kept looking at him trustingly.

Shadow groaned and shook his head. "I suppose if I don't do anything about it the rest of you will never get any peace this spring. Fine I'll think about how I can deal with the two of them."

"Oh thank you Shadow!" Cream said happily. She gave Shadow a huge hug, and then skipped off to play.

_How does she do that? _ Shadow wondered. Shadow could never figure it out, but often after a visit from Cream and Cheese he'd find himself with a task that he didn't really want to do. Still he knew that there would be a lot more peace in the village if he could get both Sonic and Amy to cut each other some slack. _I guess that's something I can think over while I do my new exercises._

Recently an overly loud discussion with Espio caused Shadow to accept a dare from the ninja chameleon. He had to relax enough to get wild birds to come to his hands. The point, Espio told him, was that he had to consciously relax, something Shadow had a very hard time doing. It took a week of sitting in the forest with bird seed in his hands to do so, but once he succeeded he understood the exercise. He had to calm his mind and body enough for the birds to feel comfortable with his presence. These were not Flickys who we're somewhat sentient and would make friends with other Mobians, these were true birds that didn't have an ounce of brains in their heads and were afraid of everything. Once accomplished, Shadow realized that this was a good mental exercise for him to do, so every other day he would spend his afternoon in the forest drawing birds to himself. He moved away from his home to his favorite place in the forest, a small clearing near a spring. Shadow sprinkled the bread crumbs two feet from his spot then sat down holding the real prize, a double handful of bird seed, in his hands. He then closed his eyes and made the conscious effort to calm his mind, and relax. Only if he stayed completely calm and still would the birds land on his hands and take the seed from him directly.

Settling his mind into the now familiar pattern, Shadow began to puzzle over this new challenge that Cream posed him. _Create a situation where Amy sees for herself who and what Sonic is, and get her to accept it._ Not an easy task to be sure. Amy saw what she wanted to see, and to Chaos with the facts. The truly sad thing about the whole thing was that Sonic did like Amy. Like Knuckles predicted long ago Sonic never dropped the habit of stopping by Shadow's house every evening to check up on him. Most of the time Sonic didn't stay for more than five minutes, but there had been nights where Sonic would stay until the wee hours of the morning. Now Shadow wondered if maybe Sonic wasn't hiding from Amy then. Those nights if you fed Sonic enough he would fall into this very comfortable state of mind, and if you let him ramble you could learn quite a bit about him.

Sonic liked Amy. He really did. He respected her skill with her Piko Piko hammer, and her courage. He worried a little about her jumping into situations that were too much for her to handle, but he admired her spunk. He honestly wouldn't mind taking her out to do something she liked to do (baring shopping) except for one thing. At the slightest positive indication from Sonic, Amy went crazy not only trying to plan their wedding, but naming their children.

_Me married? Can you see it? Me with three kids, and a nine to five? No way not for me. I like to travel too much. _ _Maybe I'll settle down one day when I'm older, but not any time soon_.

Shadow felt tiny prickles on his hands. The birds no longer feared his presence. Espio told him he had to become one with the forest, and each time he succeeded he felt the warmth of satisfaction. Even though he continued to puzzle over Amy and Sonic he managed to become part of this little clearing. He could feel the birds hopping in and out of his hands, he could hear them chirping in the trees overhead, he could even feel through the ground the other goings on in the forest. He could even feel Sonic. He could feel the land under his rump vibrate while Sonic ran through the forest.

_Hmmm he's going pretty fast, is he running for fun, or is it Egg-man? It might still be Amy? How can I get that stubborn girl to realize that she makes Sonic react like a hunted bird rather than the reaction she wants? _

Suddenly he felt a tremor through the earth. It didn't feel like Sonic running. It felt like someone who didn't care if they were heard was tromping around the forest. Shadow felt it drawing closer frightening not only the birds but every other creature in the forest. He felt and heard all the birds fly away just as Amy came barreling through the clearing.

Shadow sighed. He waited until she stopped short. Shadow could imagine her looking at him puzzled wondering why he sat in the middle of the forest. He decided the best approach would be to be harsh with her. She really didn't trust him fully and he reacting calmly to his interruption would confuse her. Placing a scowl on his face Shadow said, "I suppose you had a reason for interrupting my exercise?"

"What were you doing?" Amy asked sounding puzzled.

Now Shadow turned his head to her so she could see his disapproval. "Before you arrived I managed to get a few birds to come to my hands."

"I don't get it," Amy said after a moment, "didn't you like win that bet with Espio weeks ago?"

"I did," Shadow agreed nodding, "but in doing so I now understand the merits of the challenge, and chose to continue to develop these particular sets of skills."

Amy stood there for several seconds looking confused. Finally she said, "You mean you actually get something out of sitting in the forest feeding birds?"

"Yes," Shadow said. He waited to see if Amy would take the bait.

Amy did not disappoint. "What?"

Shadow now turned around his whole body to face her. "It is a mental exercise that trains one to observe, and be patient. It helps one to blend into their environment as well." Suddenly a flash of inspiration hit him. He raised his eyebrow and said, "You know you could stand to develop those skills too."

From her expression Shadow could tell that Amy didn't know whether or not to be annoyed at that. Finally she settled for asking, "What do you mean?"

Now Shadow rolled out the bait. "If you can get a wild bird to come to your hand, I can tell you how to get Sonic to do the same."

Amy's eyes went wide with excitement. "Really, you can do that?" She asked.

Shadow nodded, "get the wild birds to come to your hand without forcing them, and I promise l will tell you how to win Sonic."

Amy's eyes widened, and a wide grin played across her face. "Shadow you are on!"

**Coming Soon Chapter 2**

"You're trying to get Amy to attract birds?" Espio asked with a mischievous look.

Shadow shrugged. "It occurred to me that the same techniques might be beneficial to Amy to attract a certain other species to her hand."

Espio snickered. "A certain blue species?"

Shadow just smirked. "Either way having Amy quietly observing and trying to attract him, rather than chasing him will bring more peace into the village."


	3. Shadow & Amy: A New Approach

**To catch a blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side. But some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

Special Thanks to ShinyShiny 9 and Poeticlover1996 for Reviewing!

**Chapter 2** Shadow & Amy: A new Approach

(Three weeks later)

Shadow couldn't help but give Amy credit for effort. Every day she stubbornly came out to the glade in the forest to try. It took her a while, but she eventually learned the patience to sit there for hours not moving a muscle. Her ability to speak without words also improved. Since she couldn't do anything else Amy would strike up silent conversations with Cosmo. Shadow approved. Amy's only problem seemed to be that she could not relax enough to make the birds at ease.

Amy sighed; the setting sun and her empty stomach told her to call it a day. The moment she moved she heard Shadow's soft footfall behind her. While she struggled on the ground he watched from the trees. Before he could ask Amy said, "My stomach has decided to call it a day, and so have I." She looked up at the birds dejectedly. "I'm never going to do it."

"Wrong attitude," Shadow chastised her gently. "You are still too tense waiting for something to happen. Expect nothing. Your energy is frightening them. You look like you're about to jump up and catch them. This isn't about catching them; it's about getting them to come to you."

Amy looked at him quizzically. "I'm still not sure what you mean."

Shadow shook his head, and let an idea peculate through his mind. "You and I are going to change things up tomorrow. Go, eat, rest I will see you tomorrow."

Amy looked like she wanted to ask him a question, but she shook her head instead, and said, "all right, Shadow. I'll see you tomorrow."

Once Shadow couldn't hear Amy even with his advanced abilities he took off for the offices of the Chaotix Detective Agency.

Out of all the Chaotix Shadow felt a small kinship toward Espio. The chameleon kept quiet and to himself most of the time. His only difficulty in visiting Espio is that he always had to get past Vector, and of course-

He heard the little bug zooming in for a power dive the moment he entered the clearing that held their detective office. In a single smooth move Shadow dodged Charmy, spun around so that now he stood behind the bug, then gently grabbed him by his waist, and planted the little bee to the ground. "I win," he said.

Vector stormed out of their detective office obviously angry, but stopped short when he saw Charmy giggling madly.

Shadow just watched the little bug with a smirk. Charmy finally stopped laughing, and looked up at both Vector and Shadow. "Wow Shadow, you really are fast. I didn't think you could pluck me out of the sky like that!"

"I told you I could," Shadow countered calmly. Vector looked at the two more annoyed now than angry.

"I suppose you two have some kind of bet going?" Vector asked miffed.

Shadow shrugged. "He didn't believe that I could defend myself against an opponent moving through the air at speed. I welcomed him to try."

Vector sighed. "Just don't hurt the kid, okay? He can be useful at times."

Shadow couldn't resist, he gave the annoying crocodile a mischievous smile. "I don't need to hurt children to prove my point Vector. All I did was ground him. He doesn't have so much as a wing out of place.

"Hurt? That was fun!" Charmy said enthusiastically. "Can we do it again?"

"Ambush me as much as you like," Shadow told the little bee unconcerned. "But the results will remain the same."

"All right!" Charmy said eagerly.

Shadow shrugged, and moved into the office to see Espio.

Being invisible never bothered Shadow the way it did everyone else. He never went by one sense anyway. He could hear everyone's heartbeat nearby if he thought about it. His training on the ARK taught him to ignore commons sounds, but every now and then he found the ability to hear a beating heart to his advantage. Focused on Espio's heart his enhanced vision now picked up the slight visual distortion that hid the Ninja Chameleon from the others.

"Espio, I have a project I need help with." Shadow said bluntly.

The lavender Chameleon appeared, and looked up at the black and red hedgehog. "Outside?" he asked

"Outside," Shadow agreed

Once they were away from the others Shadow told him that Amy was having trouble relaxing in order to call birds to her hands."

"You're trying to get Amy to attract birds?" Espio asked with a mischievous look.

Shadow shrugged. "It occurred to me that the same techniques might be beneficial to Amy to attract a certain other species to her hand."

Espio snickered. "A certain blue species?"

Shadow just smirked. "Either way having Amy quietly observing and trying to attract him, rather than chasing him will bring more peace into the village, and she's gotten to the point where she's patient enough to sit in the forest all afternoon, but she's too wound up to relax. It's hard to get her to think of nothing."

Espio nodded his eyes closed in thought. "A guided meditation might suit her better, like I began with you. Do you think you could guide her thoughts, or would you prefer I assist?"

Shadow debated the idea. "I'd like to try myself. Amy might feel embarrassed having someone else know why she's doing this. You will keep this to yourself, and keep Vector and the bug out of it."

Espio nodded "Of course Shadow, you have my word."

**Amy:**

Amy wondered what Shadow had in mind when he met her in the glade the next day. She never saw him so eager and calculating before. He stood at the edge of the glade looking smug. "Are you ready to try again?"

A little uncertain Amy answered, "Yeah I'm ready. What are we going to do?"

"We are going to try a different way to get you to relax," Shadow said calmly. "This is how Espio taught me at first. You'll probably do better at this than I did. Now you can understand how the telepathy Espio taught us works, correct?"

Amy nodded hesitantly "I can do it a little, but not like Sonic. I have to be real close to whoever is using it."

"You and I will be close enough together," Shadow assured her. He led her into the glade and then sat down indicating that she should do the same. He handed her the bird seed and offered his hands palms up. "Rest your hands in mine, and relax. You'll feel my mind within yours. Don't fight it."

Amy did what Shadow said. She placed her hands, filled with seed in Shadow's and closed her eyes. Almost at once she felt Shadow's cool calm presence flowing over her thoughts. _Don't fight it just relax. _Amy took a deep breath and found it easy to calm down and simply listen to Shadow's mind voice gently coaxing her to relax. She almost forgot what they were trying to do when she suddenly felt soft prickles on her hands. She would have jumped but Shadow's thoughts within her mind said, _relax its fine. Those are the birds. If you stay calm they will eat the seeds from your hands for a while. _

Amy marveled at the idea that wild birds were in her hands, but she followed Shadow's instructions and never even opened her eyes. She could hear the birds singing all around her, and feel them perching on her hands to reach the seed. She didn't know how long she sat there, but eventually the seed in her hands ran out and the birds all flew away.

Amy opened her eyes and looked at Shadow. He took a deep breath of his own and opened his eyes. "Do you now understand why you were unsuccessful before?"

"I think so," Amy said thoughtfully I've been too anxious for something to happen and that's been making the birds nervous. When you got in my head like that I almost forgot what we were doing."

Shadow nodded pleased. "Exactly, in order for one to be relaxed enough for the birds to feel unafraid one must lose themselves in the meditations. That is how Espio showed me what to do. Now do you think you can do so without my help?"

Amy didn't hesitate for a second. "I'll give it my best shot," she said firmly.

"Then tomorrow," Shadow said giving Amy a rare smile.

….

A few days later Shadow smiled proudly down at Amy a dozen birds perched in her hands and on her shoulders. He knew that once she figured out how to control her anticipation and relax she would quickly succeed. His pride increased when he realized that once she succeeded she did not jump up, but continued to sit there and waited patiently until the birds flew away on their own. She then looked up proudly waiting for Shadow to jump down next to her.

He did so. "Well done," he said with a rare smile.

Amy grinned proudly with just a hint of mischief. "Now you'll have to tell me how I can get Sonic to stop running away from me."

Now Shadow's smile turned into a smirk. "I told you, I would tell you how to win him, and I shall." He paused dramatically. "All you have to do is think of Sonic as the bird."

Amy's excited smile fell away, and her face grew angry. "Are you trying to back out of this now Shadow, because if you are-"

"Sonic is the bird," Shadow repeated a little more firmly. "If you think of Sonic as a bird you should be able to see why he flees when you advance on him. If you want him to come to you, you need to be calm, quiet and relaxed." Shadow saw the light of understanding flash across Amy's face. Now she understood. Shadow let her digest the moment, but he couldn't help but add, "And have lots of bird seed."

Amy giggled at that. "Sonic does tend to think with his stomach," she admitted.

Shadow nodded. "The food will attract him, but it will be your actions that will keep him at your side or encourage him to flee. Stay calm and quiet. Observe him carefully. Let his body language tell you his mood. See what the fox kit can tell you about him. I'm sure once you know more about Sonic you can find other ways to keep him coming back to you."

Amy grinned broadly. Shadow could practically hear the wheels in her head turning. "Oh I think I can manage that." Her tone sounded of pure mischief.

**Coming Soon Chapter 3 **

Knuckles looked at Sonic and opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly Sonic felt a huge pressure in his head. It felt like someone just came up behind him and ignoring his skull attempted to squeeze his brain into a smaller size. Sonic lowered his head into his hands and began to tremble.

Knuckles noticed instantly. "Sonic what's wrong?"

"Don't know," he said forcing out the words, "My head!"

Suddenly a persistent hum cushioned some of the pain Sonic felt. Knuckles must have heard the hum also because he turned southwest instantly. "That's the Master Emerald," he said, "Something's wrong."

His sudden headache now down to a manageable throb, Sonic said, "let's go," and began to run down the mountain.


	4. Sonic: On the edge of a storm

To Catch A Bluebird:

**By Kellie Fay **

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side. But some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

*Waves to PoeticLover1996 and ShinyShiny9 again. * Thanks again!

**CHAPTER 3** Sonic: On the edge of a storm:

Sonic wanted to get away from the others to just think. Things in the village felt very weird right now. He got himself up to Angel Island, and found a little ledge half way up the volcano out in the bright midmorning sun. He stretched out there making sure he was comfortable. He didn't think Knuckles would find him. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out why he suddenly felt so unsettled around Amy. It was bad enough he couldn't remember those stupid nightmares, now Amy was acting weird.

He didn't know how long he lay there when he suddenly felt a solid thwapp against his forehead. He opened his eyes to see Knuckles violet eyes staring back at him a cross between annoyance and concern on his face.

Sonic always felt that Knuckles was a little too territorial about Angel Island. He always felt that people shouldn't be banned from places if they behaved themselves, and Angel Island was beautiful. So when he saw Knuckles there glaring at him, an apology for coming up here and not telling him didn't even cross his mind. "Hey Knuckles," he said casually.

Knuckles expression settled on annoyed. "And when were you going to tell me you were up here?" He asked.

"I wasn't bothering anybody," Sonic said defensively. "I just wanted to come up here and think away from everyone."

Knuckles face went back to concerned. "Why what's wrong?"

Sonic's brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm not sure that anything is wrong, it's just that Amy's been very weird lately."

Knuckles sat down next to Sonic bracing his back against the wall of the volcano. "Weird how?"

Sonic closed his eyes again, and tried to figure it out. "She's been so quiet lately. She hasn't chased me in weeks."

"She's mad at you or something?" Knuckles offered. Sonic shook his head a definite negative.

"She says hi to me if I say hi, but she just doesn't attach herself to me anymore. She still likes me to hang with her. The other day she just sat on this blanket by herself with a huge basket of chicken dumplings reading."

Knuckles looked at Sonic puzzled. "Did you get some?" He asked.

"Yeah she wasn't teasing me or anything. She shared with anyone who came by." Sonic said, still trying to figure it out himself. "She's just so quiet about everything right now. Another day Tails was fixing her vacuum cleaner and even though she asked about me she didn't go off running after me. She left him a whole bunch of sandwiches too, just in case I came back."

Knuckles frowned a bit trying to think. Then with a sigh, he said gently, "Sonic why don't you talk to Amy about it?"

"I've tried," Sonic admitted, "she keeps managing to turn the conversation into something else. She even got me to volunteer to take her into one of the bigger cities to go get some stuff we can't make out here."

"You volunteered?" Knuckles asked surprised. Sonic couldn't blame him. He hated going shopping with Amy. How did he end up volunteering anyway?

"I have no idea how that happened," he insisted. "One minute I was sitting there filling up on cheese biscuits, and she was talking about how many things she needed from the city and all of a sudden I found myself telling her I'd take her." He sighed listening to Knuckles chuckle, and then added, "And the weird thing was she just thanked me, she didn't say it was a date or anything and she didn't even hug me. She just went into her house, and left me the rest of the biscuits."

Knuckles looked at Sonic, and opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly Sonic felt a huge pressure in his head. It felt like someone just came up behind him and ignoring his skull attempted to squeeze his brain into a smaller size. Sonic lowered his head into his hands and began to tremble.

Knuckles noticed instantly. "Sonic what's wrong?"

"Don't know," he said forcing out the words, "My head!"

Suddenly a persistent hum cushioned some of the pain Sonic felt. Knuckles must have heard the hum also because he turned southwest instantly. "That's the Master Emerald," he said, "Something's wrong."

His sudden headache now down to a manageable throb, Sonic said, "let's go," and began to run down the hill

At The Master Emerald Sonic saw the giant gem glowing a brilliant green. Sonic stopped a little intimidated by the power he could feel the stone give off. Chaos Emeralds were one thing, but this thing could control all seven emeralds.

Knuckles moved past Sonic unafraid, and placed one hand gently on the gem. Suddenly Sonic noticed that his headache simply vanished. He gave Knuckles a curious look, but the red echidna still communed quietly with his charge. Sonic knew that on one or two occasions Knuckles used the Master Emerald to not only control The Chaos Emeralds, but for some reason the stone could influence how he felt as well.

He waited wondering what Knuckles and the Master Emerald needed to talk about when that odd pressure began behind his eyes again. He put his hand to his head hoping that the pain would just go away again, when he heard Knuckles finally say something.

"It's starting to hurt again?" Knuckles asked. Before Sonic could answer him he felt the pressure fade again. "Better?" Knuckles asked finally opening his eyes and letting go of the Master Emerald.

"Yeah, you did that Knuckles? What's going on?"

"The air pressure up here is shifting," Knuckles said absently. He turned to the east. "A storm is coming. I think it's a hurricane, and it's going to be a bad one. That's why you're feeling it even though it's two days away. You'd better get to ground fast, and get everyone together. I'm setting the island down in the water. The last thing we need around during a hurricane is a floating island. We need to start preparing. Where's a good place to weather a storm near the village?"

Sonic didn't remember the last time a hurricane came through that made Knuckles worry like that. "Shadow's place is probably more secure, but Tail's hanger and workshop has more room. I'm guessing everyone together, and all supplies we can?"

Knuckles nodded. "If this storm is going to be as bad as I think it is, we need to be completely prepared."

Sonic agreed. "I'll get everyone busy in the village." Before Knuckles could acknowledge him he raced off and took a flying leap off onto some nearby trees bringing him back to ground level and started running to the village.

Coming Soon: Chapter 4

"Worried about the hurricane?" Amy asked.

"I have never experienced one before," Shadow reminded her. "I have seen many from space aboard the ARK. The professor told me they were storms of great power, and they can cause a great deal of destruction."

"Yeah, they can," Amy said. "I've been through a few of them. The winds can be strong enough to uproot trees, and destroy homes. That's why we all like to be together if a storm like this comes up. This way we know everyone is safe. That's what we used to do where I was little. There was this series of caves along the hillside where we'd go to weather big storms. All we can do right now is plan for the worst and hope for the best."


	5. Shadow: The Best Laid Plans of Hedgehogs

To catch a blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side, but some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

CHAPTER 4 Shadow: The Best Laid Plans of Hedgehogs

_He sat in her lap in a field of buttercups both lazing in the warm sun. He snuggled into her arms feeling safe, protected, and sleepy while she ran her fingers through his crest of white chest fur. _

_"Sonic does care for Amy, very much so," Maria said gently. "You know it too. Otherwise you would not have worked so hard with Amy all these weeks."_

"_It is working," Shadow told her with his eyes closed just reveling in her presence within the dream, "It's just working slow. Sonic isn't sure what to do with the mixed signals Amy is giving him. He likes the change but he doesn't know he likes it yet."_

"_True," Maria chuckled. "So what do you have planned next for him?"_

_Shadow felt very satisfied that his and Amy's plan seemed to be working. Amy even named it 'Project Bluebird.' It certainly kept the girl occupied. "Amy managed to talk him into taking her into Center City to get some items she needs. While they're there, she's-_

"_Shadow wait, someone is calling you," Maria suddenly said. "You need to wake up," _

_Shadow sighed, and snuggled deeper into Maria's lap. "I don't want to."_

"_Shadow it's important, wake up."_

"_No," Shadow didn't want to leave._

"_Shadow wake up!"_

Shadow opened his eyes the last remnants of the dream fading away. Aware suddenly he sat in his recliner in Maria's room, and not outside. He sighed heavily, rose to his feet, and went to the window. Outside a clump of three trees with bright green leaves, pink and white flowers, and green and yellow fruits held his attention. "What?" he demanded

_Sonic needs everyone in the village now. He says it's an emergency._ Cosmo's spirit told him worriedly.

With an annoyed growl Shadow went back to his part of the house and placed his red chaos emerald safely tucked within his quills. With the single thought of _Chaos Control_ Shadow transported himself to the village where Amy, Tails, Vanilla, and Cream lived.

The moment Shadow appeared by Tails' workshop he knew that this must qualify as an emergency. Vector and the rest of the Chaotix were also by Tails' workshop listening to Sonic, and Vanilla intently. Sonic looked unusually serious, and Tails' twin namesakes were puffed out in stress. He flew in and out of the workshop with boxes and bags of supplies, and Shadow could see Amy organizing the boxes. Something moved at the edge of his peripheral vision and he turned to see in shock Angel Island lowering from the sky.

Moving instantly to where Sonic spoke with Vector, he waited until the two were finished.

"Okay Espio and I will set up the sandbags and the barriers outside while you guys get everything set up in here. Are you sure the hanger is strong enough to handle it?"

Sonic nodded. "Tails designed this place to deal with Eggman. We have the bunker if something happens up here, but I have no idea how strong the winds are going to be. On that note when Charmy gets back from your place, his job is going to be checking the area for anything that could blow away. When Knuckles gets here he takes over coordination and I go play clean up too for a while. Then we're going to try to reinforce the walls a bit."

"I can help with that too," Vector reminded him.

Sonic nodded. "Tails and Knuckles gave me a list of priorities so when jobs get done check in whoever is doing coordination and see what needs to be done."

"Gotcha Sonic!" Vector said. He then went to where Espio was helping Vanilla move boxes. The crocodile had a few words with his partner then he and Espio went away.

Only now did Shadow approach Sonic most of his annoyance gone. "What's going on?" He asked. "Cosmo told me to come here right away."

"Hurricane's coming." Sonic said Now Shadow knew Sonic felt stressed. His answer was sharp and to the point. Shadow recognized that rare mood Sonic would fall into when he had a job to do, and would not be dissuaded. "Lots of rain, but the wind is what's dangerous. It can rip houses apart, and anything not nailed down can turn into a missile. From what Knuckles is getting from the Master Emerald, it's going to be bad. We've always weathered storms like this together. That way we know everyone's safe and we all have supplies and help."

Shadow nodded. He belonged now to this tiny community, and if everyone needed to pitch in, he was included. "What do you need me to do?"

Sonic sent Shadow to helping Vector shore up the walls of the hanger. Sonic also reminded Shadow that he needed to shut up his own home. That task he left to Cream. Everyone did what they could to prepare for the coming disaster.

They expected the storm in the evening of the second day. They all decided to stay close to each other the evening before the storm. Just before she went off to bed Cream presented Shadow with Maria's locket.

"I thought you might like to have your locket with you for the storm," Cream said. When I feel nervous I like to have my dad's old sweater with me."

Shadow frowned, but tried to hide it. He knew Cream treated Maria's room with respect, but he didn't like it when she moved things without asking, or in this case removed something. Still he knew she meant no harm, so he forced his frown into something more neutral, and simply thanked her for shutting up his home. He tucked the locket within his quills near his Chaos emerald and didn't think about it anymore.

Just before they finished for the night, Amy found Shadow on the roof of the workshop staring at the sky. The wind blew restlessly through the trees. Shadow recalled the few bad thunderstorms he experienced since he came here. How much worse could a hurricane be that everyone worried about it so much?

"Shadow?" Shadow blinked and looked at Amy struggling to join him on the roof. In a single motion, he reached down and pulled Amy up to his position.

"Ack!" Amy cried out surprised. "Shadow warn me when you're going to do something like that!"

Shadow shrugged. It was safer and more efficient than having her struggle. Why did she complain about it? The wind picked up again catching Shadow's attention. If the winds were this strong now, how strong would they be tomorrow?

"Worried about the hurricane?" Amy asked.

"I have never experienced one before," Shadow reminded her. "I have seen many from space aboard the ARK. The professor told me they were storms of great power, and they can cause a great deal of destruction."

"Yeah, they can," Amy said. "I've been through a few of them. The winds can be strong enough to uproot trees, and destroy homes. That's why we all like to be together if a storm like this comes up. This way we know everyone is safe. We used to do that when I was little. There was this series of caves along the hillside where we'd go to weather big storms. All we can do right now is plan for the worst and hope for the best."

Shadow didn't know about hoping for the best. Their weather information right now came from Knuckles and the Master Emerald, and this storm worried the echidna greatly.

Coming Soon Chapter 5

They were just finishing with the reinforcements on the hanger roof when Shadow heard an engine flying overhead. "An air ship is coming," he said to the others.

Sonic looked up into the sky and cocked his head to one side to listen. "An airship? Are you sure, Shadow? Who would be flying just before a hurricane?"

Shadow closed his eyes, and allowed his superior hearing take over. "The engines are straining, they might be trying to outrun the storm. They also might be simply looking for a place to land." Suddenly Shadow's chaos sense kicked in. "And they have a Chaos Emerald aboard."

"Eggman?" Sonic asked. Instantly Shadow shook his head no.

"I checked on him yesterday. He and his robots had their own preparations, and went into the mountain fortress. He wouldn't be flying now."

"Well then who-" Sonic began, but then he paused, and tilted his head to one side, listening. Shadow surmised that now Sonic could hear the airship for himself. He looked up to the southeast, and winced seeing the ship come into view. "Oh no," Sonic muttered. Then he called down to Knuckles, digging trenches nearby. "Yo Knux! Jerk alert at three o'clock!"

Shadow saw Knuckles instantly turn towards the airship. "Oh great," Shadow saw Knuckles scowl and heard him mutter. "Them!"


	6. Shadow: The Unwelcome Storm Guests

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side, but some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

CHAPTER 5 Shadow: The Unwelcome Storm guests

The next day involved last minute preparations. Shadow knew that soon the wind and sprinkles of rain would become worse than any storm that he'd seen since coming to Mobius. He could see how each little band of rain got worse and worse. Everyone worked together to make sure the entire village was secure. They were just finishing with the reinforcements on the hanger roof when Shadow heard an engine flying overhead. "An air ship is coming," he said to the others.

Sonic looked up into the sky, and cocked his head to one side to listen. "An airship? Are you sure, Shadow? Who would be flying just before a hurricane?"

Shadow closed his eyes, and allowed his superior hearing take over. "The engines are straining. They might be trying to outrun the storm. They also might be simply looking for a place to land." Suddenly Shadow's Chaos Sense kicked in. "And they have a Chaos Emerald aboard."

"Eggman?" Sonic asked. Instantly Shadow shook his head no.

"I checked on him yesterday. He and his robots had their own preparations, and went into the mountain fortress. He wouldn't be flying now."

"Well then who-" Sonic began, but then he paused, and tilted his head to one side, listening. Shadow surmised that now Sonic could hear the airship for himself. He looked up to the southeast, and winced seeing the ship come into view. "Oh no," Sonic muttered. Then he called down to Knuckles, digging trenches nearby. "Yo Knux! Jerk alert three o'clock!"

Shadow saw Knuckles instantly turn towards the airship. "Oh great," Shadow heard Knuckles mutter. "Them!"

Sonic jumped down from the roof of the hanger to join Knuckles. "If they land next to your place they're looking to us for shelter." Sonic said.

Knuckles sighed. "And you wouldn't dream of saying no," Knuckles said. Shaking his gloved hand at Sonic Knuckles added, "You are too nice for your own good."

Shadow hid a smirk. He told Sonic that at least once a week. Sonic simply smiled, shrugged, then said almost casually, "and they have a Chaos Emerald."

That got Knuckles attention. "Are you sure?" He asked. Sonic nodded.

"Can't you feel it?" Sonic said closing his eyes. "Shadow can tell too."

Shadow took this as an invitation to join them. In one move, he jumped off the roof, and landed at their side. "I take it you know the owner of that airship."

"As much as we wished we didn't, yeah," Knuckles said with a sigh. Then he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "TAILS, GET ON THE RADIO WITH JET AND TELL HIM TO LAND IN THE VALLEY NOT IN THE WATER!"

The three of them heard a whistle from Tails acknowledging the command, and saw him fly off to the hanger. "If he does have a Chaos Emerald, we make him give it to us as payment for that shelter." Knuckles said.

"Do I get introduced to them?" Shadow asked. Both Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other, and mischievous grins filled both their faces.

"Maybe we should," Sonic said. He winked at Shadow, and then led the way racing off to the edge off the valley where they could see the giant airship lower from the sky. Knuckles managed to reach Sonic and Shadow huffing and puffing at the same time the airship touched down. High on top of the ship a door opened and a green Hawk appeared flying out on a hover board. While his board descended, he went through a series of complicated maneuvers never slowing down. For a moment, Shadow wondered if the hawk intended to knock them all over when he landed, but Sonic keeping his eyes on the hawk didn't move a muscle, so Shadow kept his piece and watched.

The hawk stopped two centimeters from the three of them. Shadow realized the entire display was simply to show off.

"Hey guys," The Hawk said with a snide grin. "You shouldn't be hanging around here. There's a hurricane coming, a big one."

"We know," Knuckles replied coldly. "We've been prepping since yesterday. Nice of you to show up after all the hard work is done, Jet. Now you can use that Chaos Emerald you have to pay for shelter here."

That surprised the hawk. "Hey how did you know we had a Chaos Emerald?"

"We have our ways," Sonic said with a grin. "If you want to shelter with us it's only fair."

"Fine, fine," Jet said defeated. He looked back up at his ship, and gave a sharp piercing call that hurt Shadow's sensitive ears. The panel on the ship opened again, and two more birds on hover boards appeared, and flew down to join the Hawk.

Sonic, ever the show boater made the introductions. "Guys, this is Shadow, he's new in our village. Shadow, allow me to introduce you to the Babylon Rouges, Storm, Wave, and Jet."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. He heard tales of the Babylon Rouges during his yearlong hiatus. He knew they styled themselves as thieves. By the way they acted; he had the impression that both Sonic and Knuckles didn't like the group very much. He confirmed his suspicion when Amy came by and on seeing Jet said, "Oh great they're going to be hurricane waiting with us too?"

Jet laughed and said snidely, "heh any port in a storm, right Pinky?"

Now Shadow knew he didn't like this Jet. What's more, Jet just gave him a reason to voice his displeasure. He reached out faster than anyone could see, and took Jet by the arm. "I don't ever want to hear you call Amy that again" He said using just enough strength to let the braggart know that if he wanted to he could snap his arm in half just by squeezing a little more. When Jet's eyes widened in worry and real fear, Shadow smirked satisfied.

"Shadow, behave," Sonic said exasperated. Shadow simply shrugged and dropped the hawk's arm.

"I'm going back to work," Shadow said, firmly glaring at all of them. "We don't have much time before we have to get inside."

Shadow pointedly ignored the Babylon Rouges after that. He didn't have time for show offs and fools. Sonic understood that to a degree, and a crisis always made him step up, but these three seemed to think they didn't need to worry about the hurricane.

Later he noticed their leader Jet hanging some ceramic amulets around the perimeter of the hanger. Cream noticed too. "Gee Jet those are pretty necklaces. Why are you hanging them around the hanger?

To Shadow's surprise both Tails and Knuckles snapped around, and glared angrily at Jet. The green Hawk ignored the hostile looks and said, "it's a protection kid. These amulets invoke The Seven."

"The what?" Amy asked.

Wave turned at looked first at Amy, then at Knuckles. "You guys hang out with the Guardian of the Master Emerald, and he never told you about the Seven Spirits of Chaos?"

"For all the time I've spent around Chaos Emeralds, I've never seen any spirits. I think it's just some old myth." Knuckles said with a glare at Jet.

"The Ancient Babylonians knew about the Seven." Jet said, sounding superior. "Because they first developed extreme gear they developed a deep connection to The Spirit of The Air. That's this amulet. The other one is for The Spirit of Water. I figured that since hurricanes are mostly air and water it would be a good idea to petition them to overlook us during the hurricane."

Knuckles shrugged, but didn't argue. Shadow noticed Vector and Espio give Knuckles a questioning look, but they didn't say anything. Then again, in Espio's case he could exchange more than simply looks.

"Gee," Cream said thoughtfully, "My Dad used to tell me stories about The Seven, but that was when I was very little. I wish I could remember more."

"Once we're settled kid, I'll tell you what I know about them," Jet told her.

Again, Shadow found that both Knuckles and Tails didn't look happy about it. He wondered why. Jet expected Knuckles to know about The Seven, and if they were connected to The Chaos Emeralds, he should know something about them.

_In fact, both Tails and Knuckles should know something about spirits associated with the Chaos Emeralds. They both seemed to know quite a bit about spirits in general. So why would they pretend ignorance about these spirits?_

Suddenly Shadow heard a rumble echo across the sky, and the wind gusted up strong enough to rattle the hanger doors. Knuckles looked relieved. "Okay that's it, Tails, Amy, Vanilla, Cream, and Charmy, stay inside. Everyone else I'm sure you can handle yourselves out in a storm, but don't go out unless you absolutely need to, and make sure Sonic, Shadow or myself know where you're going. We're officially on storm rules now."

Coming Soon Chapter 6

Storm sat back down, and leaned against a nearby bookshelf dislodging several books, which promptly landed on his and Jet's head. Sonic Tails and Knuckles laughed watching Wave help her two friends. Vanilla, always polite, said, "Oh dear, are you all right?"

"I'll live," Jet muttered picking the offending books up. Looking at the titles Jet chuckled, and shook his head. "Geeze kid, don't you read anything other than tech manuals?"

"This one's different," Wave said picking up another book. She peered at the title puzzled. "Sonic and the Secret Rings," Wave looked at Sonic puzzled. "Someone wrote a book about you?"

Jet laughed. "Gee, who did you pay to do that?" He asked.

Shadow expected Sonic to make some annoying comment about his adoring fans, but instead he saw the cocky overconfident hedgehog look at the offending book in horror. "I thought you said you were going to give those books to your contact in Crystal City?" He asked giving Tails a stern look.

"She gave them back," Tails said apologetically with a shrug. "She said they wanted to be here, and they're safe if nobody opens them."

Jet took the book from Wave, and asked, "What happens if you open it?"

"NO!" Sonic and Tails shouted together in a panic.


	7. Shadow: Within the Storm

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side, but some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

AN/ Welcome to ABCSonicKirbyWarriors, astroshadow, ShinyShiny9 and PoeticLover1996. Thanks for all the reviews I hope you're enjoying the story!

CHAPTER 6: Within The Storm

It only took another hour or so to get everyone settled. Amy and Vanilla passed out sandwiches and tea. Outside they could hear small branches and other debris hitting the hanger walls. Shadow kept an eye on Tails. He built this place himself, and he would know if the walls were strained.

When Vanilla handed Jet a sandwich Knuckles said, "by the way Jet, cough up that emerald I don't want you sneaking out without paying."

Jet made a face. "Aww you wound me Knuckles, really, do you think I'd leave without paying my debts?"

Knuckles smirked. "If it meant you could get away with keeping a Chaos Emerald I'd say yes."

"Okay, okay," Jet grumbled. He nodded to Storm who pulled the dark purple stone from the pack the three of them shared. Storm handed the emerald to Jet who tossed it to Sonic. To Shadow's surprise instead of tucking the gem into his quills like he normally would he placed it next to him. Amy sat to Sonic's left, and Rouge sat on his right. Shadow couldn't help but wonder why Sonic left the Emerald out, and why of all places it he set it down next to Rouge.

Rouge looked delighted to be in such close proximity to a Chaos Emerald. Shadow caught her eye, and glared at her so sharply she deflated, and her expression turned into something more wistful. With the slightest indication of his head, he gestured for her to hand him the Emerald. With a heavy sigh, she picked up the stone and did so. Strangely enough, Sonic didn't even appear to notice.

Storm sat back down, and leaned against a nearby bookshelf dislodging several books, which promptly landed on his and Jet's head. Sonic Tails and Knuckles laughed watching Wave help her two friends. Vanilla, always polite, said, "oh dear, are you all right?"

"I'll live," Jet muttered picking the offending books up. Looking at the titles Jet chuckled, and shook his head. "Geeze kid, don't you read anything other than tech manuals?"

"This one's different," Wave said picking up another book. She peered at the title puzzled. "Sonic and the Secret Rings," Wave looked at Sonic puzzled. "Someone wrote a book about you?"

Jet laughed. "Gee, who did you pay to do that?" He asked.

Shadow expected Sonic to make some annoying comment about his adoring fans, but instead he saw the cocky overconfident hedgehog look at the offending book in horror. "I thought you said you were going to give those books to your contact in Crystal City?" He asked giving Tails a stern look.

"She gave them back," Tails said apologetically with a shrug. "She said they wanted to be here, and they're safe if nobody opens them."

Jet took the book from Wave, and asked, "What happens if you open it?"

"NO!" Sonic and Tails shouted together in a panic.

Shadow closer to Jet reached out, and snatched the book away. Once he touched the book, his chaos sense kicked in. "There is power in this book. It is not Chaos Energy, or true magic, but it is very similar to both." Something in Shadow's gut told him to be very careful with this book. Sonic never showed fear, but Shadow knew that Sonic feared this book.

Tails nodded. "That's what my contact told me. She said the books are safe enough if you don't open them."

Sonic eyed the book dubiously. "Maybe," he said, "but I still don't want to be anywhere near them."

Tails went over to the bookcase, and took a second book off his shelf. Without being asked Shadow handed the young fox kit the book he held. For some reason the book reminded Shadow of some of the objects Knuckles once showed him from the Echidna Shrine on Angel Island. The book just had that feel about it.

"I'll put the books upstairs where they'll be safe," Tails said. Shadow saw Sonic breathe a sigh of relief.

"And after the storm I'll take those two books off your hands," Knuckles told him. "I'll put them in the Shrine on Angel Island they'll be safe enough there. The spirits of my ancestors can keep that power under control."

Again, Sonic looked relived. "Thanks Knuckles I appreciate it."

Tails went up the stairs to his bedroom with the two books in hand. Jet looked at Sonic confused. "Wait, are you saying that those books possessed you or something?"

Sonic shrugged, rolled over, and faced away from Jet. He stretched out on the floor, and put his hands behind his head. "It's a long story, I'm tired of telling it, and nobody believes me anyway." Then suddenly he smirked and said, "Besides, you were the one who promised Cream a story. Didn't you say you'd tell her about The Seven? I never heard of them before."

Shadow heard Knuckles sigh. Jet grinned, "I can't believe you guys hang out with the guardian of the Master Emerald, and he never told you about the Spirits of Chaos."

"So tell us all ready what are they?" Amy asked.

"They are the living embodiment of the natural forces within our world," Jet said. Life, Air, Water, Fire, Stone, even the forces of Creation and Destruction are each associated with a specific Chaos Emerald. These spirits can be summoned if you know how."

"The ancient Babylonians had a strong connection to the Spirit of the Air, and the Spirit of Life. In the ancient writings we found in Babylon they said that The Spirits of Air and Life sustained them while they traveled through the stars." Wave explained.

"Is that where you learned how to carve the Talismans?" Tails asked, coming back down the stairs, and joining the group on the floor.

"Oh we didn't carve them," Jet answered. "We found a cache of all seven kinds Talismans when we started to explore the ancient city.

"I wondered if they were genuine," Tails said. If the stories about the Seven are true those Talismans would have a lot of power."

"Lemme see," Sonic said getting to his feet. He zipped over to the hanger doors where the two stone talismans hung. He held them together in his palm with his eyes closed, apparently testing their weight. "Hmmmmm," Sonic hummed thoughtfully. "There's something there but I couldn't tell you what. It's not like chaos or ring energy. It feels familiar though, but I couldn't tell you why." Sonic's eyes popped open and he contemplated the two amulets in his hands. "They are pretty though."

Jet grinned knowingly. "Which one do you like better?" He asked.

Shadow watched Sonic contemplate the two amulets in his hands. Even at this distance, Shadow could see the two amulets. One showed five wavy lines within three wavy circles. The other amulet showed multiple swirls each moving into another in a never-ending pattern. Sonic dropped the amulet with the wavy lines back to where it hung, focusing only on the swirled amulet. He gave an odd little smile apparently lost in some daydream. The wind, which howled horribly outside, found its way into the hanger through cracks by the doors and windows. Shadow felt the cold draft, but Sonic reacted like he felt a warm breeze.

"This one, "Sonic said, "It reminds me of being outdoors on a warm day."

Jet laughed. "I thought you'd like that one. That represents The Spirit of Air."

"Sonic is most definitely an airhead," Knuckles said, with a smirk at Sonic.

Wave rolled her eyes and glared at Knuckles. "Come on! You're the guardian of the Master Emerald. Surely you could tell if Sonic is a child of The Seven."

"What's a child of the Seven?" Amy asked.

Jet took up the story again. "They say that The Seven can't or won't act directly to protect their worlds. They only act through The Chaos Emeralds, or certain individuals who have some of the power of The Seven. They're called The Children of The Seven. After we found Babylon, and started reading the ancient writings, we wondered if you were a Child of The Seven. You definitely have the power and the attitude of The Spirit of Air."

Shadow noticed that suddenly both Sonic and Amy were very interested in Jet's story. In a quiet almost hesitant voice Sonic asked, "How do you get their power?"

That surprised Jet. "You mean you don't know?" The green hawk demanded. "I mean with the way you run..."

"That's why I'm asking," Sonic shot back. "I've always been able to run like that. It drove my parents and the elders crazy trying to figure me out. Up until Eggman showed up my dad wanted me to keep my speed from the other kids in the village, we never did find out why I could run and absorb energy the way I do."

"You mean you don't know why you can run like that?" Jet asked.

Sonic shrugged. "I just do," he said, "I don't know why everyone drives themselves crazy trying to figure me out, but the power of air..." Sonic paused and toughs a moment. "How would you know if you were one?"

Tails sighed, "To gain the power of the Seven you have to be pledged to them. Most people pledge themselves to The Seven in their teens."

"We'll I never pledged anything to anyone," Sonic said. "I'm guessing it would be a pretty big deal."

With a smirk Jet said, "You should ask your guardian of the Master Emerald that." At Sonic's questioning glance he added, "What? You think it's normal for someone to be able to talk to rocks and get them to obey you? He has to be bound to The Spirit of Stone."

All eyes fell on Knuckles who now looked very uncomfortable. With a shrug he said, "Yeah I was pledged by the guy who hatched and raised me. I was five at the time, and while there was some sort of ceremony, I really don't remember that much about it, and like I said before I've never seen any of the Seven."

"Do you feel a connection to rocks though?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles glared at Rouge, and snapped, "Stone," then seemed to be slightly embarrassed by his own reaction. Trying to act casual he said, "I guess I do, I mean I can talk to the Master Emerald, and the seven Chaos Emeralds, I can call on them to give me power, but I don't absorb it the way Sonic, and Shadow can."

"I've always been able to channel energy from The Chaos Emeralds, but Sonic was the one who showed me how to absorb chaos energies. Still I can't absorb non-chaos energies," Shadow said, looking at Sonic now wondering himself why Sonic was so odd. Not just the running or the energy absorption; Sonic always had this overwhelming need to _help_ even when told to mind his own business. He always told Shadow that he couldn't stand by and do nothing if others needed him. Shadow saw how Sonic acted while he recovered from being poisoned. At times Tails and Knuckles had to sit on Sonic to keep him from going off to help someone, while Shadow raced to the rescue. Now Shadow couldn't help but wonder if Sonic's odd personality quirks had a reason.

_He can break Mach one without even thinking about it. He absorbs energy from sun, wind, even our thoughts and emotions; he can't ignore a cry for help even when he is hurt or incapacitated. Could he be a child of one of these seven spirits?_

Meanwhile Sonic spoke up. "I told you guys I don't know why I can absorb energy like that. I just do."

Shadow still watched Sonic curious. "Jet, can you tell us anything else about The Spirit of Air?"

Out of the corner of his eye Shadow swore he saw both Knuckles and Tails wince.

Oblivious to the pair Jet turned to Wave, who said, "From what we found she is called Amaunet, or Amau. She whispers her will in the breeze, she is the hand of the sky, she holds our air ships aloft, and watches over our struggles and pleasures. She is known in the canyons and the cities; she sang the first songs. She is never still, always seeking new places and experiences. She touches all yet stays with no one. Her anger is the tornado, and hurricane. She has the strength to tear homes apart, and uproot the forest, and yet is gentle enough to carry a fallen leaf to its resting place..." At that point, Wave faltered and said, "Um I can't remember the rest of the inscription."

Shadow couldn't help notice that everyone now except Knuckles and Tails were looking at Sonic with the same expression on their faces, and possibly the same thought running through his mind. _That sounds way too much like Sonic to be a coincidence._ That introspective look even shown on Sonic's face for a moment. Shadow wondered what he thought about what the swallow said, when suddenly the rare serious look fell from Sonic's face and he said, "This is way too deep for me. Who wants to play checkers?"

Shadow took him up on the challenge. With his knowledge of tactics, he could easily beat anyone in so simple a game with little or no effort, and it would allow Shadow to digest this new information, and speculate on its meaning. While Sonic set up the checker board Shadow noticed Knuckles glaring angrily at Jet. Tails seemed to be almost hiding from direct view. Shadow wondered why those two seemed to act so oddly. He couldn't shake the idea that it had to do with the spirits Jet talked about. Just before they began the game Shadow on impulse shoved the purple Chaos Emerald into Sonic's hand. "Here," he said curtly, "be more careful with that thing. Rouge almost had herself a new broach."

Sonic looked at the Emerald apparently surprised. "Oh! I didn't even notice it missing. Thanks Shadow." He took the stone back, but again he simply left it at his side instead of tucking it away in his quills.

Shadow decided not to say anything right away. Something funny was going on with Sonic and that emerald, and Shadow didn't know what.

Sure enough, Sonic left it behind when he relinquished his place to Knuckles, who looked at the deep violet gem, and sighed. The echidna guardian then tucked the Emerald into his own quills, and frowned but didn't say anything about it."

After twenty games of checkers, Shadow gave up finding a worthy opponent. Only Tails and Espio gave him any challenge. By now, the storm raged in full force around the hanger. Everybody felt nervy, Sonic most of all. Everyone knew that Sonic hated to be confined for any reason. He didn't react like he reacted to his fear of water. He just didn't like to be held in one place. If he had control over when he held still he acted normally, but being forced to stay in one place even for a storm made him irritable and edgy. It didn't help that Knuckles started playing head games with Sonic with that purple Chaos Emerald. Sonic didn't notice, but Shadow took note that very quietly Knuckles would pass the emerald to several individuals who would try to get near Sonic. Once they possessed the purple emerald wherever they went is where Sonic did not want to be. Shadow even took his turn holding the purple emerald, but once he saw that Sonic seemed to find a reason not to be next to Shadow once he held it, he returned the emerald to its guardian. When he returned the emerald to Knuckles, the red echidna sighed pensively.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked in hushed tones. Thank goodness, Sonic's hearing wasn't like his.

"Not sure yet," Knuckles said just as quietly as Shadow. "Something is going on with him. I'll figure out later. For now I think he could use a distraction." Knuckles turned to the Caotix, and asked, "Hey Vector, do you have my stuff?"

The big Crocodile turned and asked, "do you want the green bag or the brown one?"

"The brown one Vector," Knuckles answered catching the long bag when Vector threw it. Shadow wondered at the length of the bag until Knuckles drew out what looked like a long hollow tree branch decorated with some of the symbols Shadow saw once in the ruins on Angel Island. Some beaded chords dangled near Knuckles part of the instrument. The large decorated branch got everyone's attention.

"What is that?" Sonic asked. Shadow glanced at Sonic slightly puzzled. He knew that Sonic had seen the instrument before. He certainly remembered it. Even though the Echidna guardian showed no true Chaos powers on his own, when he played that instrument anyone with Chaos talent seemed to sync up with his will, and become very compliant. Shadow remembered him using it when Sonic recovered from being poison to get the stubborn blue hedgehog to calm down and rest. That of course was good for whoever took care of Sonic, but Shadow knew that it could also influence his thoughts and feelings too.

Shadow glared at Knuckles who looked back slightly apologetic. "It's something I found in my ancestors shrine. It's an instrument. Lately I've been having dreams about how it's supposed to work and I've been trying to play it. I think I sound pretty good."

"Oh really?" Sonic asked. "Let's hear you then!"

_Why doesn't Sonic remember?_ Shadow wondered. He watched Knuckles polish the instrument with care. Shadow managed to catch the echidna's eye and glare a warning. Knuckles simply shrugged and got ready to play.

Even though Shadow heard Knuckles play before the deep thrum of the instrument surprised him. The low methodical humming of Knuckles instrument vibrated through the floor into his body. Knuckles set a beat and pattern that seemed to sync with Shadow's heartbeat. Something in him relaxed, and he found himself closing his eyes.

The thrumming from Knuckles instrument followed Shadow even into his dreams. Only when Knuckles stopped could Shadow pull himself from the fascination. He opened his eyes to see Knuckles kneeling next to a sleeping Sonic with The Master Emerald shrunk down in both his hands. The emerald hummed with power, and Shadow had the impression that the echidna guardian was checking something inside of Sonic's mind. Shadow lay perfectly still watching Knuckles sigh and cover Sonic up. He then went and curled up in his bedroll and went to sleep.

Coming Soon: Chapter 7

Knuckles looked at Amy then looked at Shadow he seemed reluctant to talk in front of Amy. "What happened?" Shadow asked not caring if Amy heard or not. When Knuckles still hesitated, Shadow played a hunch. "Did Sonic make the Emerald do that?"

Knuckles expression went flat. Amy tried to help. "Shadow and I couldn't sleep so we came up here to talk. Sonic was having some sort of strange dream. Shadow thought he was reacting to something."

Knuckles deflated instantly. "Damn Jet," he muttered more to himself than them. Then looking up at Shadow he said, "Mind you I could be wrong, but I think for some reason Sonic is developing a fear or an aversion to the Dark Chaos Emerald."


	8. Shadow, Amy, & Knuckles: A Problem:

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Shadow challenges Amy to develop the skills and patience to coax Sonic to her side, but some old enemies from Sonic's past are trying to destroy the couple before they've paired up. And why is Sonic plagued by nightmares?

Hi and thanks for all the great reviews. To mojafortiilinga if you want to know what I did with Cosmo you should read "A Seedrian grows on Mobius" It's one of my earlier Sonic stories. To PoeticLover1996 I know you're wondering what is on Sonic's mind. That's okay so are Shadow and Knuckles.

*waves to ShinyShiny9 and SonicRomance15*

CHAPTER 7 Shadow, Amy, & Knuckles A Problem

Shadow stayed awake a long time wondering what Knuckles was up to. The Echidna definitely didn't like Jet's story. Shadow couldn't help but wonder if Knuckles behavior came from the possibility that he knew the stories about The Seven, and for some reason he didn't want those stories told. _And what is up with Sonic? Why did he try to lose the purple Chaos Emerald, and was he even aware he was doing so? _ He heard Knuckles roll over cuddling the sack of emeralds in his hands. That inspired another thought. _Knuckles once said that being The Guardian of The Master Emerald made him responsible for those who use Chaos powers. Is that why he's worried about Sonic?_

A sigh where the girls were camped pulled Shadow from his musings. He sat up, and looked around to see who else couldn't sleep. His motion made Amy do the same. Even in the darkness, Shadow could see Amy's red-rimmed eyes. Something obviously bothered her. He locked eyes with her, and quietly pointed to the staircase that led to Tail's private room. Tails chose to camp down in the hanger with the rest of them; so the room lay empty if Amy just wanted to talk. Amy nodded, and together the two weaved their way through the mass of bodies making for the stairs.

Suddenly a moan and a shiver from Sonic stopped Shadow in his tracks. Amy froze next to him. Both hedgehogs looked down at Sonic who rolled over away from the Chaos Emeralds in Knuckles sac, and muttered in his sleep. "No, don't want….not me."

Shadow reached over, and pulled one of his blankets from the floor. He knelt down next to Sonic, and motioned Amy over. When Amy joined him he pointed to the back of Sonic's ears, and mouthed quietly _rub there._ Amy looked at him shocked, but another groan and shiver from Sonic made up her mind. Using her thumbs, she slowly massaged the back of Sonics ears in little circles. Sonic let out a relieved sigh, and stopped shivering. Shadow covered Sonic with the blanket then, playing a hunch, used his red Chaos Emerald to generate a small Chaos Shield around his blue reflection. It wouldn't last very long, ten fifteen minutes at the most, but something in Shadow's gut told him that Sonic's restless sleep meant something, and he wanted whatever stimulus that set Sonic off sealed off for a bit. Shadow then looked up at Amy, and nodded toward the stairs again. Amy nodded back, and together they ascended up into Tail's private room.

Shadow never visited anywhere except the hanger and workshop before, so Shadow couldn't help but smile when he saw the machine parts scattered across the braided woolen rug, and the blueprints that decorated his desk and walls. The two books that unsettled Sonic rested on the desk on top of the blueprints. The bed sat in the corner and Amy sat there absently folding up the sheets and blankets that lay at the foot of the bed in an untidy mound. "What did you do?" Amy asked her voice trembling slightly. Sonic's uneasy night unnerved her for some reason.

Calmly Shadow said, "it's only a Chaos shield. I have the feeling that Sonic was reacting to something in his sleep, and at least for a few minutes he'll be sealed off from it."

"Oh," Amy said quietly then with a small blush, she said. "I know you don't know a lot of local etiquette, but touching one of us behind the ears like that is a little…." Amy didn't finish the sentence but her increasing blush told Shadow enough.

With a slight blush to his cheeks Shadow said, "I see. Rouge told me it was an extremely sensitive pressure point for a hedgehog, and would cause deep relaxation and pleasure. She didn't tell me its social implications. Unfortunately it is a set of neurons I don't seem to possess."

Amy looked at Shadow puzzled. "You don't?" she asked shocked.

"I was created at the genetic level," Shadow reminded her. "Believe me Rouge has taken great pleasure in finding out which of her acupressure techniques work on me, and even found some points that she never seen on any group." Shadow tapped the back of his ears. "My skull is probably thicker or grows over them, if they are there at all. I will keep watch on Sonic for the rest of the night, but you looked like you needed to talk to someone."

Suddenly Amy looked crestfallen. "Shadow do you think all those things Jet said about the Spirits of The Seven Chaos Emeralds is true?" She asked looking down at her clasped hands in her lap.

Shadow took a stab in the dark. "It matters somehow to you."

Amy nodded. "I was thinking about Sonic. He touches everyone's lives, but he doesn't want to get too close. He hates holding still. He can be gentle like a breeze or as destructive as a hurricane. He is the living embodiment of The Spirit of Air."

Shadow understood where Amy got that idea from, but he didn't see why this would upset her. "So you believe that Sonic is either the incarnation of this spirit, or this spirit has a hold on Sonic's soul."

"It's obvious isn't it?" Amy snapped back on the verge of tears again. "He belongs to the wind, and he's never going to belong to me."

There in lie the problem. No matter what Amy learned about Sonic during Shadow's little project she never lost site of the goal she wanted. She wanted Sonic to commit to her and only her. With Jet's story running through her head, she no longer believed that goal could be attained.

_And yet thinking of Sonic as a servant, or the embodiment of the wind makes so much sense when looking at his personality. _Feeling pity for her, Shadow tried to think of something to make Amy feel better. With a heavy sigh Shadow said, "Amy, back on the Ark, Maria had a poster in her room with a saying, 'if you love something set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was.' In the end she did set me free."

"But what about me, Shadow!" Amy asked, the threatened tears started to fall. "Why am I bothering doing all this work to get Sonic to notice me and love me if he can't?"

Shadow knelt down next to the bed, and took Amy's hands in his. "Amy he does like you very much, but not the way you think he should. He is not obligated to be your perfect image of a boyfriend, he never was. Can you still say you love him if he is not what you want him to be, but simply what he is?"

The confrontation felt a little cruel to Shadow, but Amy finally had her epiphany about Sonic, and Shadow wanted to make sure the lesson stuck.

"Of course I love him!" Amy shot back forgetting to keep her voice down. "All these weeks hanging out with him, I love him even more now than when he was running from me, but that only makes it worse because he's never going to-"

Suddenly a loud bang sounded through the entire building. It didn't sound like thunder, the eye of the hurricane had passed a while ago, and Shadow didn't expect another band of rain for twenty minutes. Then Shadow's Chaos sense kicked in, and he felt one of the Chaos Emeralds moving away from the building. Shadow took the chance, and opened the shutters to the window in the room. Sure enough, a bright purple glow moved through the field heading towards the forest.

"Stay here," Shadow commanded, all business now. With a simple thought he Chaos Controlled himself to intercept the stone. Once in proximity to the Chaos Emerald he called it to his hand. Wondering how in the world the stone flew out here, Shadow walked back to Tails workshop. Inside he saw Knuckles wide awake holding the remaining emeralds tucked under his arm. The sac that used to hold the emeralds sported a huge hole. The echidna knelt over Sonic again soothing him. Shadow drew closer and saw Knuckles take the white Chaos emerald and place it in Sonic's hands. Still sleeping restlessly Sonic hugged the white Emerald to his chest and surprisingly calmed down.

"Not good," Knuckles muttered quietly to himself, taking back the emerald carefully. Shadow made a slight grunt letting Knuckles know he was there. Knuckles snapped his head up, and sighed once relieved that Shadow held the purple emerald, but then looked worried again.

Not sure what would happen with Amy in the room too, Shadow pointed again to Tails' bedroom. Knuckles nodded once, and followed the black and red hedgehog up the stairs.

Amy of course still sat there worried. "Shadow what happened what was that- oh! Knuckles what's wrong?"

Knuckles looked at Amy then looked at Shadow. He seemed reluctant to talk in front of Amy. "What happened?" Shadow asked not caring if Amy heard or not. When Knuckles still hesitated, Shadow played a hunch. "Did Sonic make the Emerald do that?"

Knuckles expression went flat. Amy tried to help out. "Shadow and I couldn't sleep so we came up here to talk; Sonic was having some sort of strange dream before. Shadow thought he was reacting to something."

Knuckles deflated instantly. "Damn Jet," he muttered more to himself than them. Then looking up at Shadow he said, "Mind you I could be wrong, but I think for some reason Sonic is developing a fear or an aversion to the Dark Chaos Emerald."

Shadow thought he understood. "That's why Sonic kept putting it down before." Knuckles nodded.

"The Dark Chaos Emerald?" Amy asked puzzled. "Then that story Jet told us is true?"

Knuckles frowned firmly. "I've never seen-" he began again, but Shadow having no patience for dissembling cut him off."

"She didn't ask you if you saw one of these spirits, she asked if the story was true. I think you believe the stories, you always have, and you haven't been telling us."

Knuckles backed up slightly, a sign to Shadow that the Master Emerald Guardian wasn't going to argue. "Look you guys don't have to worry about those spirits so –"

"What do you mean we don't have to worry about it?" Amy demanded getting angry. "What about Sonic? Jet just gave us a perfect reason why he can run so fast, and has so much access to Chaos Energies! It's all true isn't it? Sonic is A Child of The Seven!"

"Does it matter?" Knuckles asked.

Amy blushed and looked uncertain. Shadow never one with being delicate plowed ahead with the question. "Does that mean that Sonic is only committed to The Seven, and can't have emotional attachments to anyone else?"

Knuckles looked at Shadow confused then his eyes fell on Amy who had her face in her hands shaking in embarrassment. "Oh," Knuckles said blushing a little himself. "Frankly I don't know. Like I said, I've never seen one of The Seven. All I know is that if you are pledged to one or more of the Seven part of them is within you. Knuckles looked at Amy thinking. "When we were on Earth did you ever hear about zodiac signs?"

The question took Amy by surprise. "Ella used to read her horoscope all the time, but what does that have to do with us? We weren't even born on that planet."

"The Seven are sort of like that here," Knuckles said. "Everyone has a trace of one or more of The Seven within them. Supposedly, it has to do with the energies around when you're born, and you need a priest or priestess to tell you who you're connected too, but mostly it has to do with people's personalities. When people say you're A Child of the Seven though, it's more than you just emulating a specific set of personality traits. They say you hold some of their power."

"Like being able to absorb forms of energy like its oxygen, and running faster than Mach one?" Shadow asked. Knuckles nodded.

"Sonic is most likely attuned to Air. It's also why he prefers the light blue Chaos Emerald, and to answer your question Amy I don't know if you can make Sonic fall in love with you. I know he likes you, but someone with that strong of an affinity for Air isn't going to be able to commit to a lot of stuff. I'm not saying you should give up trying, I'm just saying you're going to need a lot of patience and persistence to pull it off."

Amy sighed, and looked down at the floor crestfallen. Shadow decided a change in topic would be good at the moment. "Okay so why did the purple emerald just go shooting out of the hanger? You said Sonic did that?"

Knuckles sighed placing the green Chaos Emerald on the bed. Gesturing to Shadow to add the purple one, Knuckles explained. "Just like the Seven Spirits are associated with some element or energy, so the emeralds are…I guess I would call it a flavor of those energies. Green is life energy, Sonic's blue emerald is Air, your Red emerald is Fire, Dark blue is Water, and Yellow is Stone. It's the White and the Purple ones that are a little different." Knuckles picked up the purple emerald. "The White and Purple Emeralds balance the light and darkness within all things. The White focuses all the positives energies, and the Purple focuses the negative energies. I'm not sure why, but about three years ago Sonic for some reason stopped choosing the purple emerald when given a choice, and began only focusing on the Air and Light Emeralds unless he needed all of them. Ever since we got back from space, he's been worse. Now he avoids the Purple Emerald to the point of trying to lose it, or hand it off. He just shot the thing away from him completely in his sleep. Guys this is not a good sign. Something has to be wrong with Sonic."

Shadow considered this. If each of the emeralds had a specific flavor to Sonic, then something had soured his Chaos Sense to this particular stone. "Tell me more about this emerald then," Shadow said thoughtfully.

Knuckles nodded. "Dark energies aren't necessarily evil, but they are associated with negative emotions, or at least destructive energies. Sometimes you just need that kind of force. It's the hardest of the Chaos Emeralds to control, and if you don't have an iron will it can influence you to be a little more destructive, and vindictive than you have to be."

"What about the spirit associated with it?" Shadow asked.

Once Knuckles started speaking Shadow realized he did guess right. Knuckles knew about the spirits associated with The Chaos Emeralds he just didn't want anyone else to know. "She's got a lot of names depending on what planet you're on. The echidnas called her Deleo The Dark One. She is the force that destroys. Combined with the other elements, she's the hurricane for Air, the earthquake for Stone, the flood for Water, and the uncontrolled burn for Fire. Some stories have her feeding on negative emotions of those who live in the world, and when she has too much energy, she –"

"She comes out of the planet and destroys it?" Amy suddenly said, perking up. She looked at Knuckles her normal determination clearly on her face. "If this negative energy was released….say from the emerald, or from the spirit directly what would happen if it infected a person?"

Knuckles looked at Amy puzzled. "Did Sonic-" he began but Amy shook her head.

"Anyone," she insisted.

Knuckles frowned in thought. "If they didn't have a will made of steel it would warp or alter their perceptions and thoughts. A person could become overly depressed, or overly aggressive. Amy, this is making sense to you?"

Amy nodded thinking. "You say Sonic started avoiding the dark energies about three years ago? That's about when Tails, Sonic and I were on planet Gaia. Sonic was fighting Eggman, and I talked Tails into going after him. Eggman forced what he called Dark Gaia energy through Sonic to wake up some kind of destructive spirit. The little strands of escaped energy made people act…well the way you described, but it didn't change Sonic's personality. It changed him in…in other ways."

Shadow wondered what she meant by that, but Knuckles noticed the implication instantly. "The way Sonic uses energy, and given how positive his nature is, he would have instinctively channeled that energy into himself, but it would have caused some kind of physical reaction in him."

Amy nodded. "He…looked different at night. He lost his speed, but he got very strong, and had other powers. I didn't even recognize him at first."

Knuckles breathed out. "That was three years ago, and that's about when he started choosing the other emeralds over the purple one, but ever since we got back to Earth from the Metarex war he's been worse. It's almost like he's afraid of the energy now, and he's always been able to control it before."

"Then else something must have happened out in space that reinforced his aversion to those energies," Shadow said. Something was peculating at the very edge of his memories, and he wasn't sure what it was.

_Shadow found it annoying how Deco and Bocoe always pestered the doctor, tag teaming him with short statements. _

"_Doctor you have been up all night."_

"_You really need to get your rest."_

"_You are not a young man any longer."_

"_What do you expect to learn about a fake Chaos Emerald?"_

_The Doctor barely looked up from his work at the monitor. "This is important work boys. These fake chaos emeralds are dangerous in a way I don__'__t quite understand yet. Quit your fussing you two I__'__m not tired."_

_The Doctor looked tired, but he also looked disturbed in some way. He had a puzzle in his mind, and he wouldn__'__t rest until he solved it. He had to solve it, Just like….like." Again, Shadow found a block on the memory, but he understood that The Doctor could not rest until he figured out the solution._

_Bokun rested on top of a shelf overseeing the others below. "Are you trying to figure out how to stop Sonic from accessing the fake emeralds? Cuz I__'__ll tell you I never saw him act like that before, and the way that his fur got all dark, and his eyes glowed? It was really creepy."_

_That made The Doctor look up. He rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window at the stars. "It worries me to think that in all the years that Sonic and I have fought each other, all the times I__'__ve kidnapped and threatened his friends, I have never elicited a reaction like that from him. He__'__s never acted against me with anger. I suspect these artificial Chaos Emeralds may have affected Sonic negatively, but I remember the creature Chaos used the actual Chaos Emeralds. He acted in anger also, and well you remember what a mess he made. I can__'__t help but wonder what would happen to Sonic if he lost his temper around the actual Chaos Emeralds."_

_It got very quiet aboard the Crimson Egg. After a few moments of unsettling silence Bokun sighed, and said, "great, I may never get to sleep tonight. That__'__s a scary thought."_

"_Agreed," The Doctor said. "I never want to risk making Sonic that angry again." _

"Yo Shadow, snap out of it!" A pair of hands clapped close to his face. Shadow blinked out of the memory finding himself still in Tails' room with Knuckles and Amy.

Knuckles seeing Shadow back and aware of them again relaxed. "You had us worried there for a second." The echidna admitted. "Why did you space out on us?"

"Something did happen to Sonic out in space," Shadow said now certain. "When I rescued your crew mates Chris and Cosmo from Black Narcissus' ship, The Doctor and his robots came back uneasy about something. The Doctor mentioned the fake Chaos emeralds, and an affect they had on Sonic. At first he was studying the fakes in hope of understanding what happened, but the more he thought about it the more he wondered if it would happen with the actual Emeralds if Sonic were angry enough."

"Sonic never gets that mad," Amy began but Knuckles cut her off.

"Everyone has a breaking point Amy," Knuckles gently reminded her. "I remember that incident. Chris was hurt, and Cosmo really scared, but they didn't mention Sonic at all. Sonic got back a little while later, and he was real quiet for a few days afterwards. He wouldn't talk to anyone, and Tails mentioned seeing him up at odd hours of the night. After a few days, it stopped, but now I wonder."

A nagging little thought kept bothering Shadow. "Knuckles, what would happen to Sonic if he was that angry, and had access to all seven Emeralds?"

The echidna's eyes dropped closed, and Shadow noticed a slight tremble run through his body. Almost as if he were reciting the words Knuckles said, "The Seven Chaos Emeralds take what is in our hearts and turn it into power, but if the heart that wields the emerald is full of nothing but anger and fear then that power will bring pain and destruction to the world."

Amy gasped. "Sonic would never-"

"I'm not saying he would Amy, but once the thought occurred to Sonic it's not something he can easily ignore." Knuckles explained. "Maybe being infused with Dark energies on Planet Gaia did affect his mind, and he could control it, but he never said anything. Maybe the fake Chaos Emeralds Black Narcissist had did affect Sonic in a bad way, but now the idea is in Sonic's head that the dark energies are too dangerous for him to handle, and he doesn't want to risk accessing them."

"Hence why he's ignoring, or avoiding the Purple Chaos Emerald," Shadow said nodding. "I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference between The Seven Chaos Emeralds, but if each has a flavor to Sonic The Purple Emerald no longer appeals to his Chaos sense."

"Makes sense to me," Knuckles said worriedly. "This isn't good for Sonic because if we're stuck in a crisis, he'll either choke, and refuse to absorb the energy out there, or in the unlikely case he does lose his temper, he could go off the deep end, and become one of the most destructive forces in the universe."

Amy shook her head in disbelief. "But Sonic wouldn't-"

Knuckles sighed and cut her off. "Amy, Sonic has already thought of this! Remember when we first found out that Cosmo's spirit survived in the Star Tree? When he started hearing her voice he thought he was going crazy. You didn't see him until he worked it all out, but I saw how scared he was when he thought he was losing it. Right now, he's dealing with it by not dealing, but we can't leave things like this. We need to know what's going on in Sonic's mind, and find a way to help him get over this."

Shadow looked at Amy, but said nothing. Project Bluebird was Amy's private matter, even though he conspired with her. She would have to offer her services. Amy must have sensed what Shadow thought, because she asked, "Shadow, Project Bluebird could be useful for that couldn't it."

"I think so," Shadow answered. Knuckles looked confused.

"Project Bluebird?" He asked. A second later, he must have figured it out because a huge grin spread across his features, and he looked at the pair trying not to laugh. "Later you two are going to have to tell me what you have been up too, but right now I just want to gather information." He looked thoughtful. "I'm going to talk to my ancestors in my shrine as soon as the hurricane blows over, they got Sonic to nearly freak once. I'm going to find out what they know." Knuckles then gave Shadow a speculative look. "Are you and Eggman still on speaking terms?" At Shadow's nod, he said, "As much as I hate to do it, I'd like you to ask him about exactly what happened to Sonic on Black Narcissist ship. Don't ask him to speculate, just straight observation on how Sonic reacted."

"What about me?" Amy asked in her more determined voice.

Shadow answered that one. "Continue with Project Bluebird, but think about alternative objectives that will allow us to understand his thought processes, or increase his confidence. Also consider going back to Phase One, observation, and studying his body language. If Sonic is A Child of The Seven, and he is connected to the Spirit of The Air, it wouldn't hurt you to get better informed."

"Gotcha Shadow." Amy said, sounding grateful to be able to do something

"Now I suggest we all return to sleep," Shadow said, "the last things we need are others finding us here."

Both Amy and Knuckles agreed. One by one at ten-minute intervals, they walked down the stairs. Shadow being the last oversaw the crowd sleeping below. Fortunately, the three Babylon Rouges slept like the dead and never even moved when the Purple Chaos Emerald blasted through the wall of the hanger. Rouge, Cream, and Vanilla also looked undisturbed. Vector and Charmy slept soundly, but Shadow could tell that Espio was awake. He gave a slight mental nudge to the Chameleon who looked up, and locked eyes with Shadow. _Unless Knuckles asks, you are not involved, _Shadow warned Espio. The Ninja sighed and nodded once before lying down. Shadow surveyed the room again, Amy had snuggled back in the blankets, but Shadow's sensitive ears told him that Amy's respiration and heartbeat were still too erratic to be sleeping. _I need to ask Rouge to teach Amy some acupressure techniques that she can use on Sonic. Knuckles is right, if Sonic is having problems we need to know what__'__s going on in his head. _

Shadow decided not to sleep the rest of the night. Designed to be a weapon Shadow didn't need to sleep or eat as much as the others. He tried to act like them to make them comfortable, but every now and then, he was grateful that he could ignore routine, and could do what his creator designed him to do. He settled himself on the steps with only a single blanket for warmth, and watched the others sleep the rest of the night.

Coming Soon Chapter 8

Shadow shook his head no. "The incident might have upset him, but you and I both know that more must have happened to him for him to be having nightmares and to be completely rejecting the dark Chaos Emerald."

Knuckles nodded. "Starting with what happened on Planet Gaia. Has Amy told you anything more about that?"

"No," Shadow said flatly his ears plastered to the back of his head in obvious annoyance. "She and the fox cub have closed ranks on that subject. Neither of them will speak of it."


	9. Gathering and Hiding Information

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Thanks to PoeticLover1996, SonicRomance15, ShinyShiny9, mojafortiikinga, And ABCSonicKirbyWarriors I'm glad you are all enjoying the story, and it will continue to get complicated .

Mojafortiiking: To answer your question I'm sure Tails did something to keep her safe and secure, but Shadow wasn't involved in it. You'll see Cosmo (sort of) here.

ShinyShiny9 ACK curse my bad spelling. It was late when I was proofing this. and the word Narcissist does come from the flower. (Greek myths) I'll try to do better next time. But I may have to slow down posting. The school term is starting on Tuesday and I'll have 2 or three lessons to prep every day.

CHAPTER 8 Shadow, Tails & Knuckles Gathering and Hiding Information

Predictably, Tails woke first the next morning. Shadow watched the young kit sit up and look around a bit puzzled. Shadow noted that Tails looked at Knuckles who had squeezed between him and Sonic. Then Tails looked about in confusion apparently trying to find someone. Shadow made a small cough in the back of his throat so Tails could find him. Tails looked back at the stairs and smiled a silent greeting to Shadow.

Then he noticed the hole in the hanger wall. Moving closer to Shadow he asked, "Do you know what happened to the wall last night?"

Shadow wondered what Knuckles would want him to say. Trying to hide the fact that he did know, Shadow shrugged, and said, "Perhaps something blew in during the night."

Tails frowned, and his ears went flat against his skull. Shadow suspected that the young kit knew the falsehood. "I've never known you to lie to me Shadow," he said flatly.

_Damn he did know,_ Shadow thought. Again, he debated what he should tell the youngster without consulting Knuckles. "Follow me," he said. Checking once more to make sure Sonic still slept, he led Tails outside the hanger. Once outside Tails guided them to the area where Cosmo's tree rested. Shadow watched while Tails inspected every inch of the Star Tree to make sure she weathered the storm without too much injury. There were many leaves and Star Fruits littering the ground, but none of her branches were lost. Catching a Star Fruit Cosmo dropped to him Shadow bit into it chewed and swallowed. "The only reason I hesitate to speak is because I believe Knuckles will wish to keep the incident quiet, but I realize you may be a source of information on what happened to Sonic on the Planet Gaia." Shadow explained.

Tails instantly turned from his inspection of Cosmo, his twin namesakes puffed out like bottlebrushes, "Who told you about that?" he demanded.

"It does not matter," Shadow said, finishing the fruit. "I need to know."

Tails eyed Shadow suspiciously. "Why?" He asked in that same demanding tone.

Shadow raised an eyebrow in surprise at the kit's sudden attitude. Tails never demanded anything from anyone.

Thinking carefully Shadow said, "In respect to Knuckles, I am going to have to ask that you speak to him first before I disclose anything, but do so without Sonic around."

Tails looked down at the base of Cosmo's tree, his twin tails switching back and forth unhappily. "Sonic had another nightmare last night didn't he?" He asked.

Surprised Shadow nodded. "How long has he had these dreams?"

Tails sighed. "They started just after we got back from space after you disappeared. They stopped for a while after you moved here, but lately he's been having them again."

Shadow nodded, "I believe you do need to see Knuckles. He has some information you need to hear."

Tails frowned at Shadow, but Shadow suspected that Cosmo, the Star Tree, put her two cents in, because the little fox said nothing. He simply sighed and walked away.

Shadow's ever present frowned deepened. Now certain that something happened on Planet Gaia that neither Amy nor Tails wanted to talk about Shadow decided to go See Doctor Eggman soon after the clean up from the hurricane finished.

….

"...the doctor managed to talk him down off the power high, but he told me right then and there that he decided to fight the Meterex after that. Not only were they intent upon destroying the galaxy he wished to conquer, but he did not wish Sonic to be in a position where he would have access to the energies that the Meterex were using."

Knuckles frowned deeply. Shadow couldn't blame him. Not only did he speak to the doctor, but Shadow made it a point to speak to the three robots also. All three of them described Sonic's darker fur and almost manic behavior when with Black Narcissus, but Boco noted that Sonic's transformation occurred only after he saw how hurt and frightened Chris and Cosmo were. _Even when I attacked the girl to do away with her, Sonic never got that angry. He defended her, and Chris, but never went after me because of it. He reprimanded me, but he never threw a single punch._ _What must he have felt to pull pure dark energies from the fake Chaos Emeralds?_

Shadow waited patiently until Knuckles turned to him and asked. "So what do you think?"

"Like I said before, I can't tell the difference between The Chaos Emeralds. I used the fake emeralds without knowing it until they fell apart. If they had negative energy, I couldn't tell the difference. "

Knuckles nodded his eyes closed in thought. "What do you think about Sonic?"

Shadow shook his head no. "The incident might have upset him, but you and I both know that more must have happened to him for him to be having nightmares, and to be completely rejecting The Dark Chaos Emerald."

Knuckles nodded. "Starting with what happened on Planet Gaia. Has Amy told you anything more about that?"

"No," Shadow said flatly his ears plastered to the back of his head in obvious annoyance. "She and the fox cub have closed ranks on that subject. Neither of them will speak of it."

"Well they're going to talk to me, whether they like it or not." Knuckles insisted. "You and Sonic are too powerful not to take care things when ether one of you has a problem."

Shadow frowned, but what could he say? He _was_ too powerful to be left alone with problems. He nearly killed Sonic once in the throes of a nightmare. "So what do we do?"

Knuckles glanced down to the area that Angel Island floated over. "According to what I'm feeling from my shrine Sonic needs to admit he has a problem before we can do something about it, and right now he's not even aware he's doing anything. Forcing him to see it right now is just going to confuse him."

"So?" Shadow asked.

Knuckles sighed, "So we wait. Sonic will probably get worse before he gets better. All you and I can do is watch, wait, and pounce on him when he cracks."

_Great,_ Shadow thought to himself. _I am now a hedgehog baby sitter._

**Coming Soon chapter9 **

Sonic never showed any indication of fear under normal circumstances, so Shadow couldn't think of what Sonic would be scared of, but he did know what inspired his own nightmares, and how he reacted to being awakened.

"Stay behind me," he ordered Tails and Amy. Then tense, and ready to jump out of the way if Sonic attacked Shadow, he reached out, placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder, and gently shook his blue reflection. "Sonic, you need to wake up, you're dreaming."

Sonic moaned, and rolled away from Shadow. Not sure what to make of that, Shadow reached out again, and shook a little harder. "Sonic you need to wake up."

Sonic opened his eyes, but Shadow recognized the peculiar glassy eyed stare from Rouge's description. Sonic's body might be awake, but his mind remained trapped within his nightmare. Sonic took one look at Shadow, and bolted to the darkest corner of the room quivering in terror. "No! Let me go! Leave me alone!"


	10. Of Secrets and Nightmares

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Hi all yeah I'm going to be slower now only uploading on weekends. Real life is busy. Hope you enjoy this new chapter. As always, reviews make the insecure author happy.

CHAPTER 9 of Secrets and Nightmares

_The chains weighed him down preventing him from sitting up, much less moving. The beast circled him casually like a cat playing with its prey. Sonic struggled against his bindings, but found himself immobilized, trapped, with him._

_"You're not going to escape Sonic," the creature said. "You can't run from me. I'm everywhere. I'm inside you. One day you're going to lose control again, and you're going to let me out. You can't keep me locked away forever. I'm going to get free."_

_"No!" Sonic struggled against his chains. "I...I'm not going to let you hurt anyone!"_

_The beast stopped in front of Sonic looking directly into his eyes. "You can't stop me Sonic. You are me. Do you really think you can keep yourself contained forever? You lost control before you know." _

_He couldn't look away from the creature's eyes. Within he could see himself fighting Black Narcissus' machines, he could see himself as the beast himself fighting and absorbing the dark energies. He saw himself betrayed, failed, with Shahara dead in his arms and the rings of sadness, rage, and hate hovering nearby._

_The Chaos Emeralds take what is in our hearts and turn it into power, but if the heart that wields the emeralds is filled with nothing but anger and fear then that power will bring pain and destruction to all. _

_"No I won't do it! You can't make me!"_

_The beast hovered over him laughing. "Give in to the anger Sonic. Only then will you be strong enough." _

_Sonic knew that if he gave in the beast would take over his mind, and be released. He curled up under his chains. Better to hide than release the creature. The beast unswayed drew closer, laughing._

...

Shadow angrily paced back and forth in Amy's kitchen, his coffee and cookies ignored. "Amy, I'm not saying that you should tell me what happened on Planet Gaia, but you need to tell Knuckles."

"Are you asking me to break my promise to Sonic?" Amy demanded.

Shadow shook his head, and wished he could make Amy understand. "This isn't about your promise Amy. This is about something being very wrong with Sonic. Knuckles is the Guardian of The Master Emerald. He's not only responsible for the Chaos Emeralds, but also those of us who can use Chaos energies, because we _can_ be destructive with those energies. He needs to manage us like he manages the emeralds. If Sonic is having issues, and if it connected to what happened to him on planet Gaia, Knuckles needs to know so he can be warned, if not try to fix the problem."

Amy sighed unhappily. "I know Shadow, but it still feels like I'm betraying him somehow. Maybe I should use Project Bluebird, and try to get him to talk to me first, or talk him into talking to Knuckles."

Shadow thought about that. Amy's ability to manipulate Sonic had improved, but he knew she needed to be careful using that new skill. "Right now with your current level of skill you will either get him to talk, or he may run, and avoid the issue."

"I know," Amy said. At least she knew her current level of skill. "It's just that -"

_Amy, Shadow, Sonic is having a bad nightmare. He needs help. _Cosmo's spirit voice cut through their argument.

"How bad?" Shadow instantly asked the little tree spirit outside.

_I can't really tell. I have never seen his nightmare, but with the way he's moving I'd guess on level with some of yours I'm afraid,_ Cosmo answered distressed. _Please hurry._

Without warning Shadow scooped up Amy, and raced the mile out of the village to Sonic's home. About halfway there Shadow realized that Tails had joined them. _Of course, Cosmo would tell the cub. He knows stuff about Sonic that no one else does._

Together Shadow and Tails made for Sonic's home. Once on the front porch Shadow put Amy down, but stopped Tails from going in first. "If Sonic's nightmares are anything like mine, I'd better go in first. You wouldn't want him to wake up later, and realize he hurt one of you. Shadow put Tails and Amy behind him then opened Sonic's front door and went in.

Shadow couldn't recall ever being in Sonic's home before. Like his own, the decorations were sparse, but it felt like a cheery kind of sparse. The wood paneling shown a bright polished pine, and all the furniture had colorful seat cushions. Off to one side Shadow saw a bookshelf were Sonic's light blue Chaos Emerald rested along with other trinkets, but Shadow focused on the figure trembling in the bed.

Not sure how bad Sonic's nightmare could be Shadow took a good look at his blue reflection analyzing what he saw. Sonic lay in the bed, shaking like he was in the midst of a blizzard, but his face betrayed the fact that fear, rather than cold that moved him.

Sonic never showed any indication of fear under normal circumstances, so Shadow couldn't think of what Sonic would be scared of, but he did know what inspired his own nightmares, and how he reacted to being awakened.

"Stay behind me," he ordered Tails and Amy. Then tense, and ready to jump out of the way if Sonic attacked, Shadow reached out, placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder, and gently shook his blue reflection. "Sonic, you need to wake up, you're dreaming," he said.

Sonic moaned, and rolled away from Shadow. Not sure what to make of that, Shadow reached out again and shook a little harder. "Sonic you need to wake up," he repeated

Sonic opened his eyes, but Shadow recognized the peculiar glassy eyed stare from Rouge's description. Sonic's body might be awake, but his mind remained trapped within his nightmare. Sonic took one look at Shadow, and bolted to the darkest corner of the room quivering in terror. "No! Let me go! Leave me alone!"

Shadow backed away from Sonic, aware that within Sonic's mind Shadow represented a terrifying threat. Sonic curled up into a tight ball with his quills pointed out against all threats. In all the time Shadow knew Sonic, he never saw his reflection so afraid before.

Behind him, Shadow heard Tails sigh sadly. The young fox kit then moved past Shadow, and knelt down where his friend and hero lay quivering. Very softly, Tails began to sing in a language Shadow remembered hearing in Crystal City. Shadow didn't know the language, but the melody must have been familiar to Amy because she began to sing also, but this time Shadow understood the words.

Come near my little one

The daytime has fled

The darkness is growing

Come seek your bed

The wind she is singing

Her song in the trees

Your good dreams she gathers

The bad dreams she frees

Thus, we will guard you

And fill you with glee

The mother who loves you,

The wind who blows free.

The two sang together harmonizing quite nicely. Shadow saw Sonic, still entrapped by his dream, begin to relax and blink sleepily. Amy drew close, gently gathered Sonic up into her arms, and gently rubbed the back of Sonic's ears. Dazed and not truly awake Sonic mumbled, "Mom, I had a bad dream."

"It's okay Sonic," Amy said softly into his ears. "I'm here, go back to sleep." Amy hummed the song again, allowing Sonic to snuggle in her arms and go back into a true sleep.

Shadow stood there thinking about how he didn't need to be here, but felt relieved when he lifted Sonic off Amy's lap and tucked him back into his bed without Sonic reacting. Then he guided the two out to Sonic's front porch. Before he could ask either one of them anything, Amy and Tails faced each other and asked simultaneously, "How did you know that song?"

Tails blushing, his twin namesakes twitching furiously with nerves said, "Kitsune mothers use that as a lullaby."

When he looked back expectantly at Amy she said, "Sonic's mom used to sing it to him when we were kids."

That news surprised Shadow. "You knew Sonic when he was a child?"

"We grew up in the same village," Amy said. "I started looking for Sonic a few years after he left. He didn't get along with his dad very well so we just don't talk about it."

Tails gave Amy a cross look, but sighed and nodded. "I wonder how Sonic's mom learned it. I've only heard it sung in Kitsune, but the version you sang was an accurate translation."

Shadow having no patience with song translations asked, "Does that song have something to do with that story Jet told about the Spirit of The Wind?"

Tails looked very uncomfortable, and before he could even open his mouth Amy said, "You knew didn't you? Sonic is connected to the Spirit of the Wind and you never told us!"

Tails flush increased. "Look can we talk about this at my place? I don't think we want Sonic to wake up, and find us on his front porch."

Actually, Shadow wouldn't have minded if that happened. Then he could ask Sonic what in Chaos' name was the matter with him, but he followed Tails and Amy back to the workshop. Tails, ever the proper host, set them up with tea before they started talking. Once settled Shadow began with his questions.

"Amy is correct isn't she;" Shadow said gently, "both you and Knuckles knew that Sonic was a Child of The Seven, and neither one of you told us."

Tails sighed, and took sip of his tea before answering. "It didn't matter," he said. "Sonic didn't know anything about The Seven, so we couldn't ask him why he has the power of the wind. Knuckles can tell because he's bound to the Spirit of Stone, but he never asked Sonic either. It wasn't really important. It just let Knuckles and I know how Sonic would react in certain situations."

There was something about this that annoyed Shadow for some reason. "Sonic's soul is bound to some unknown spirit, and you didn't think it was important enough to tell him?"

Tails winced, but his voice remained steady. "When I first met Sonic, I wanted to get more information about him before I asked. Then when I realized that Sonic didn't know anything about The Seven I didn't know what to do. So I just watched, and tried to learn more about him. After what Amy said, I now know why Sonic doesn't like to talk about his past. I wasn't going to upset Sonic by bringing up ancient spirits. According to what I know Amau values freedom, and may have simply given Sonic the power, and has never revealed herself to him, or asked him for anything. I don't think Amau is connected to Sonic's nightmares at all. If anything if we could contact her she would probably help Sonic."

"Can we contact her?" Amy asked eagerly.

"As Guardian of The Master Emerald, Knuckles should be able to, and I know one or two others who can also." Tails said, sounding hopeful. "I'll see if I can call them in the morning."

Shadow nodded, but still felt unsatisfied. "Does either one of you want to tell me now what happened on planet Gaia that made Sonic so afraid of dark energies?" Both Amy and Tails flushed, and looked at Shadow guiltily. With an annoyed snort Shadow said, "Never mind. I can see that both of you would rather die than part with the information Knuckles and I need to understand how to help him. You two better get into his head then, and solve the problem yourselves before I decide I've had enough, and drag that blue pain out of his bed by his ear, and pound the answer out of him." Without waiting for either one of them to answer, Shadow turned on his heel and marched out of the hanger.

Amy looked at Tails who seemed deep in thought. "Tails, do you know why Sonic is having these nightmares?" She asked hesitantly.

"He's afraid of something," Tails said more to himself than Amy. "But I'm not sure what he's afraid of."

"Knuckles thinks Sonic is afraid of the dark energies the Purple Chaos Emerald makes, and that it may be the same kind of energy dark spirits use, like Dark Gaia."

"You told them about Sonic and Dark Gaia?" Tails asked.

"I just told them about Dark Gaia, because it sounded like it was connected. I didn't tell them what it did to Sonic." Amy answered with a huff.

"You must have made them suspicious enough that both Knuckles and Shadow are asking questions," Tails pointed out. The little kit heaved out a huge sigh.

Amy sensed his conflict. "You think we should tell them everything don't you Tails."

Tails sighed again. "I don't want to break my promise to Sonic any more than you do, but if Knuckles and Shadow are right, and Sonic is having issues with dark energy, then we have to help him work it out."

"So what do we do?" Amy asked

Tails frowned deeply. "I'm going to ask someone I know for advice." Tails said firmly. "My grandmother always said that acting in haste makes the mistake. I'll decide what to do then."

On the way back to her own home, Amy decided to take a more proactive approach. Rouge recently taught her a few acupressure tricks that would make Sonic answer any question, and react to non-threatening suggestions. She would get Sonic to tell her what's wrong, and suggest he talk to Knuckles."

Coming Soon:

Amy felt that Sonic needed a little reassurance. Still rubbing his relaxation point Amy whispered. "You didn't hurt anyone when you the wear hog. You protected me. You took care of people. You were strong."

"Looked wrong. Felt wrong... couldn't even tell. Don't wanna be him!" Sonic's sleepy voice almost came out a growl.

The part of Amy's mind that had absorbed Shadow's lessons warned her that she should drop it now, and go back to less stressful memories. The more impulsive part of Amy's mind just couldn't resist asking the question. "What couldn't you tell?"

Amy knew the moment the words left her mouth that she crossed the line. Suddenly Sonic's whole body went rigid, and faster than she could see his hand shot up, and grabbed her arm pushing her hand way from his head. His eyes popped open, and he pushed away from her sitting up. For a moment, he looked terrified, then bewildered, then angry.

"What in Chaos were you doing?" He asked.


	11. Amy: A Step Too Far

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Chapter 10 Amy: A Step Too Far

Amy's plan included stuffing Sonic full of his favorite foods, but chilidogs were hard to bring to a picnic. So Amy made hot dog rolls with a chili rub that she knew Sonic would love. Sure enough, the lure drew Sonic to her side out by one of his favorite napping spots.

Once stuffed with chilidog rolls, and lemonade Sonic began to doze in the warm sun. Once she saw him relaxed, she gently began tracing tiny circles on his forehead. Sonic released a deep sigh, and relaxed further. "Hmmmmm what are you doing? Feels good..." Sonic muttered lazily.

Remembering the lessons Rouge gave her Amy whispered softly. "Shhhh just relax enjoy it." Sonic let out another deep breath with a tiny groan. Amy smiled realizing how much Sonic enjoyed the sensations.

Amy quickly reviewed the lesson on questioning Rouge taught her. The sultry bat told her to start with something harmless then work your way up to the questions you needed. Sure now that Sonic had relaxed into that state Rouge described as not thinking, but being, Amy said softly in his ear. "This reminds you of Adabat doesn't it? The few days we spent there after you defeated Dark Gaia?"

Sonic gave a little moan, and leaned into Amy's light touch. "Hmmmmmm, Mazuri nicer... No ocean."

Amy chuckled, and moved slightly so Sonic could lean against her if he wanted to. "Tails said he liked Spagonia, but all he did was spend time in the library."

Sonic chuckled and rolled over so his head did now rest in Amy's lap. Amy managed to find one of the points under Sonic's jaw and moved her free hand there. Sonic beamed with drowsy delight. After a huge yawn he mumbled, "Was helping Prf Pickle read manuscripts. …Tails big help."

Amy smiled proudly Sonic looked practically asleep, but he was still talking to her. "What about your little friend Chip? What was his favorite place?"

Completely out of it, Sonic chuckled. "Mazuri pretty, but loved food in Chun Nan. Could put away twice my weight in meat buns and still fly."

Amy nodded; the good memories were keeping Sonic passive. "How did you meet him anyway? You never told me."

Sonic's happy smile fell. Something about Amy's question disturbed him. "W...was after Eggman released ...released _her. F_ound Chip out cold after I came too. When Eggman released Dark Gaia, Chip came too."

"So Chip and Dark Gaia were connected somehow?" Amy asked.

"Hmmmm, Sonic mumbled. "Had to help him. Had to stop Dark Gaia. Had to change back."

_Change back?_ Amy had an idea that Sonic might be talking about his wear hog form. She rarely saw him as the wear hog after that first time. In fact, he seemed to be avoiding her at night until the energy that turned him into the wear hog left him. She said nothing for a minute making sure Sonic still felt relaxed. Then she asked, "Sonic what can you tell me about being the warehog?"

Even half-asleep Sonic became stressed. His quills started to tighten up, and he frowned. "No..." He muttered. "He's not me."

Amy tried to relax Sonic again, but she suspected that she found one of Sonic's issues. She needed to be very careful or else Sonic would wake up. Still uncertain whether or not she should use the very sensitive points behind his ears Amy focused on his jawline instead. "You didn't like being the wear hog did you?" She asked.

Still under her spell, Sonic managed to give his head a little shake. "H...hated him. Hesss not me. I'm not angry. I...I don't want to hurt anyone."

Amy felt that Sonic needed a little reassurance. Still rubbing his relaxation point Amy whispered. "You didn't hurt anyone when you the wear hog. You protected me. You took care of people. You were strong."

"Looked wrong… Felt wrong... couldn't even tell. Don't wanna be him!" Sonic's sleepy voice almost came out a growl.

The part of Amy's mind that had absorbed Shadow's lesson warned her that she should drop it now, and go back to less stressful memories. The more impulsive part of Amy's mind just couldn't resist asking the question. "What couldn't you tell?"

Amy knew the moment the words left her mouth that she crossed the line. Suddenly Sonic's whole body went rigid, and faster than she could see his hand shot up and grabbed her arm pushing her hand way from his head. His eyes popped open, and he pushed away from her sitting up. For a moment, he looked terrified, then bewildered, then angry.

"What in Chaos were you doing?" He asked. It sounded like an accusation, but Amy knew that something she did triggered this response in him.

Rouge told her that if caught she should focus on the positive aspects of the treatment. "You didn't like it?" She asked trying to sound innocently puzzled.

Sonic wouldn't be distracted though. "What did you do?"

Amy tried again. "I thought you liked it. You looked so relaxed."

Now a stern frown formed on Sonic's face. He folded his arms across his chest. "Did Rouge teach you that?"

Amy tried a different tactic. Nodding she said, "She thought I could use it to help you unwind. She noticed you've been a little stressed. In fact, everyone has. Have you been sleeping all right?"

Sonic looked pensive. Tails told Amy that Sonic knew about his nightmares, but he didn't seem to remember them at all when he woke up. Hoping to get him to open up at least a little Amy said, "You know you had a nightmare the night of the hurricane." When Sonic blushed and flattened his ears Amy added, "and a few nights ago too. Sonic you need to tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me," Sonic shot back, but Amy knew a lie when she heard it. Sonic seemed to know that she didn't believe him. She wondered if he even believed it himself.

Still she let the lie slide. "Then tell me about the nightmare. Maybe we can figure it out what it means."

"It's just a stupid dream," Sonic snapped at her. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Does it mean anything when you're controlling Chaos Emeralds in your sleep?" Amy asked. When Sonic stopped and, looked at her perplexed she continued. "The night of the hurricane, when Jet gave you the Purple Chaos Emerald, Knuckles said that while you were having that nightmare you forced the emerald away from you. Shadow had to go after it and bring it back." Amy saw that Sonic was now listening very carefully to her so she finished the story. "Knuckles said that you can probably feel the differences in the Chaos Emeralds and you can tell the purple one has dark energy in it. That's why you don't want it around anymore."

Sonic got to his feet, and took two steps away from her. "That's crazy," he said, but she thought his protest sounded weak.

Annoyed, Amy rose to her feet, stood in front of him, placed her hands on her hips, and frowned at him sternly. "Then why don't you ask Tails how he got the hole in his wall. Knuckles saw you do it. He and Shadow watched you try to lose that emerald all that night."

Amy watched a series of emotions run across Sonic's face. His body trembled slightly the way he usually did before a run. Finally, he closed his eyes and shook his head firmly. Amy wondered if he was trying to shake the thoughts from his mind. "None of is explains why you using Rouge's hocus-pocus on me." He stated flatly.

"Because you're not talking to me!" Amy snapped frustrated. "You're not talking to me, or Tails, or Knuckles, or anyone you usually talk to when something's upset you. She reached out and tried to keep him from running by holding his arm. "Sonic please you have to tell me what's upsetting you so much that it's giving you nightmares."

"I already told you there's nothing the matter with me!" Sonic said getting a bit annoyed.

Amy was not about to let this go. Gripping onto Sonic's arm tighter she said, "Sonic if you don't stop and talk about this right now I'm going to start telling Shadow and Knuckles about the wear hog!"

Sonic's eyes went wide. "You promised!" He said sounding truly angry now. He pulled his arm out of Amy's grip. "Let go of me Amy!"

Surprised at the sudden yank, Amy took a step backwards, but when she did so, her foot connected with a rock, and not the ground. She fell backwards onto her rump with a small squeak of surprise. She looked back up at Sonic intending to beg him not to run, but when she saw him looking at her the words died in her throat.

His eyes were wide with fear again, but Amy didn't think he feared her. He looked horrified at her, trembling in the warm afternoon sun. Worried she called out tentatively, "Sonic?" In the next instant, he vanished leaving only a breeze and the distant sound of a sonic boom in his wake.

Coming Soon Chapter 11

The idea that he might belong to someone even a spirit didn't set right with him. People shouldn't own others even if they were spirits. _Okay let's be fair here. Jet never said that The Children of The Seven belonged to the Spirits only that they held their power,_ but why him? Why did the spirit give the power to him?

"I wonder if it isn't time to get those answers," Sonic said out loud to himself. He'd been here dozens of times before, but then he didn't know about The Seven. Maybe the spirit wanted to be asked. Sonic nodded to himself making up his mind, and then entered the old temple wondering what he would find there.


	12. Sonic: On the Edge of Dreams and Darknes

To Catch a Blue bird

By Kellie Fay

Thanks for all the great reviews. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story.

CHAPTER 11 Sonic: On the Edge of Dreams & Darkness

The few times that Sonic ran himself into exhaustion could be counted on one hand. It wasn't that he didn't use a lot of energy; it was that he replaced it almost simultaneously. Even the wind he created by running seemed to energize him. Running himself into exhaustion was actually difficult for him, but at the moment, he tried anyway. If he pushed himself maybe he'd get tired enough where he wouldn't think about his last image of Amy fallen on the ground looking at him with fear and betrayal.

_Why did I shove her like that? What's the matter with me lately? _He wondered to himself. It wasn't just Amy. He knew that lately he would wake up terrified from some strange nightmare that _he could not remember! _ He used to have these mysterious dreams every now and then, but lately their frequency had increased.

Now Amy just told him that he forced a Chaos Emerald away from him in his sleep. _Amy said it was the purple one. That it's connected to dark energies. Did I ever notice the different colored emeralds felt different before? _He forced his mind back to that night, and realized that the purple emerald did make his skin crawl in an uncomfortable sort of way. He just couldn't stand the feeling of it tucked in his quills. When the other emeralds were nearby it didn't bother him nearly as much.

_Maybe it has something to do with the warehog. I think that's what Amy was asking me about. _ When _did_ she learn acupressure from Rouge? _Then again, if they've been talking about this since the hurricane Shadow or Knuckles could have asked Rouge to teach her._

That made Sonic stop in his tracks and sigh. _Okay maybe Amy did have a reason to pick my brain. What else did she get me to tell her?_ Sonic checked his surroundings. One of his favorite old ruins lay before him. _A perfect place to stop and think. _

The ruins were carved directly into an old extinct volcano similar to the shrine Knuckles once shown him on Angel Island. Here somebody hollowed out each lava tube into elaborate entrances. Slowly for no reason at all Sonic strolled down to the eastern entrance. There were several entrances into the ruins, each carved differently. Sonic paused at the entrance and admired the workmanship when suddenly his eyes fell on a plate of rock to his right that had the same markings that he remembered from the amulets Jet showed him the night off the hurricane.

_That's the symbol for The Spirit of Air, like the pendants Jet had. I wonder..._ Faster than anyone could track Sonic raced around the entire volcano. Sure enough, he found seven of the elaborately carved entrances, each with its own set of unique carvings, and each with its own symbol marking it. The four natural elements were positioned each in a directional point. The entrance for light marked where he knew the sun rose on the first day of summer. The entrance for life he found nestled between the entrances for light and water. _Hmmm looks like Dark Oak knew something about what he was doing I wonder if Seedrians had legends about seven spirits too? _ Cosmo's trees didn't extend so far out where she could sense him so he couldn't ask her now, but he made a mental note to do so in a couple of days When he returned home.

_Sigh. _Thinking about going back made Sonic remember why he left in The first place. _That look in Amy's eyes like she was afraid I might hurt her. What is wrong with me lately? _He forced himself to cool down and thought about what she tried to tell him. _She said I didn't want to be near the purple emerald because it had dark energies. So where would that entrance be?_ Sonic knew he counted seven entrances in his original zip around, but he only stopped at six of them. _Hmmm seven emeralds, seven spirits seven entrances; there has to be a connection. If the entrance for light faces where the sun comes up on the first day of summer then... _ Sonic looked up in the sky, did some quick math in his head, then looked first where the sun would rise in winter, and then when he found nothing tried where the sun would set.

_Bingo! _ Sonic stood before the carved entrance, and like the purple Chaos Emerald, it made him feel uneasy. _Or like those fake chaos emeralds, Black Narcissus made._ Those not only made his skin crawl, but also created a cold empty place in the pit of his stomach. _This is starting to make more and more sense. I'm always absorbing energy from everywhere. When I got aboard Black Narcissus ship, I absorbed the energy and felt sick. It made it easier for me to freak out when I saw Chris and Cosmo, and then when I pulled the energy in angry..._ Sonic shuddered and forced the memories from his mind. _It was like in the book with Erazor Jin. It just wasn't me! But it's still inside me what in the world would happen if I freaked like that around the Chaos Emeralds?_

Sonic knew the answer to that, and it frightened him more than anything. _The Chaos Emeralds take what is in our hearts and turn it into power, but if the heart that wields the power is full of nothing but anger and fear, they will bring pain and destruction to us all._

For a brief moment the thought of the destruction he could cause, the _fear_ of his own power held him. Then he shook the image out of his head and realized why he kept thinking about things he didn't like to think about.

_It's this entrance! _He thought to himself. _Dark energies bring dark thoughts like all those people on Planet Gaia! Why I couldn't hold it together on Black Narcissus ship. Why..._ Sonic shook his head again. He was still doing it! Quickly he zipped back to one of the other entrances and felt instantly better. _Hmmm I wasn't thinking about it, but this is the entrance dedicated to The Spirit of the Air. I wonder if Jet is right about me. That I do belong to The Spirit of the Air._

The idea that he might belong to someone even a spirit didn't set right with him. People shouldn't own others even if they were Spirits. _Okay let's be fair here. Jet never said that The Children of The Seven belonged to the Spirits only that they held their power._ But why him? Why did the spirit give the power to him?

"I wonder if it isn't time to get those answers," Sonic said out loud to himself. He'd been here dozens of times before, but then he didn't know about The Seven. Maybe the spirit wanted to be asked. Sonic nodded to himself making up his mind, and then entered the old temple wondering what he would find there.

He moved slowly even though he hated doing it. He wanted to notice everything. For the most part the ruins looked exactly like they looked before; dark dusty, full of vines and cobwebs, and yet it did seem different at the same time. Some of the ancient crumbling carvings now had meaning for Sonic. He could see the symbols for the Seven Spirits intermingled with other runes. Sonic wondered if he took Tails in here would the little fox kit know the inscriptions on the wall. _Knuckles might too. Hmmmm both of them know ancient lore. They _knew _about The Seven, but never told me. _Then again both of them always had this 'watch and wait,' philosophy. If Sonic never asked them a question about it, they might decide never to mention it.

_But my dad..._ Sonic thought moving from the tunnels to a hollowed out chamber, _I have to wonder if he knew. He certainly hated old temples, and stories about spirits. Was he trying to keep me from learning about them?"_

The wide-open chamber of black basalt polished to feel like fine glass beneath his fingers greeted him. Like the lava tubes and chambers on Angel Island there were spots that opened to wide cathedral like spaces. This one looked more the size of a chapel rather than a cathedral, but the feeling of 'temple' definitely hung in the air.

Sonic looked around at the chamber. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about the area. Moss grew at the foot of a bright white polished limestone alter, very different from the volcanic rocks around here. High up on the ceiling of the chamber someone once set up a giant set of wind chimes. Every breeze that came through the room made the thin pieces of greenish blue metal sway and play their alluring song.

Behind the alter, and to the left stood a strange sculpture of blue and green stone. It resembled some human or sapient, (a term they were named with on Earth) but you couldn't tell what species it resembled. One minute Sonic thought he saw a rabbit, then maybe a kitsune, once even a hedgehog. It looked like the arms moved also changing every time Sonic focused on them sometimes having three or even four arms. Finally Sonic looked away from the sculpture dizzy, and turned his attention back to the alter

He could see a small bowl carved into the surface of the stone alter. Sonic ran his fingers over the smoothly polished indentation, feeling that he should offer something to the spirit in exchange for his answers. Zipping outside for a moment Sonic gathered a bouquet of flowers. He raced back into the temple, and placed them gently in the hollow on the alter.

Now unsure of what to do to gain the attention of a spirit Sonic cleared his throat and trying to look at the statue called out hesitantly, "uh hello? Spirit of Air? It's me, Sonic The Hedgehog. Well I guess you know that. I mean everyone says that I hold your power, but I don't know why, or how, or what I'm supposed to be doing because of it. Maybe you could give me a clue or something?"

Nothing but the constant breeze, and the tinkling of the chimes in the room answered him. Sonic sighed, and shook his head amused with himself. _Stupid hedgehog you really thought this spirit or whatever, was just going to show up because you wanted her to? You're no lore master. _

Sonic plopped himself on the floor in a corner where he could clearly see the alter, and the strange statue that looked different every time he looked at it. Still the statue possessed a beauty about it that Sonic couldn't describe. For no reason at all he became very focused on it trying to make sense of the swirls and loops in the polished stones. Above him, the wind chimes tinkled pleasantly, and Sonic found it easy to empty his mind, and think of nothing at all listening to the breeze in the chimes, and contemplating the statue before him wondering how stone could be made to appear to change without changing.

_"We'll that's the nature of air and the wind, isn't it Sonic?"_

_The voice startled Sonic. He instantly turned to his right where he saw an old friend hovering two feet from his head, his tiny dragonfly like wings beating to keep him aloft, sipping at a mug._

_"Chip?"_

_"The tiny spirit ignored Sonic's shock, and kept talking. "The air is always the same substance, but it's always moving and changing. Kind of like you don't you think?"_

_Sonic wouldn't be dissuaded from his puzzlement though. "Chip what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping in the core of Planet Gaia?" _

_Chip took another sip of his mug. "We'll part of me is. But I had so much fun being out in the world part of me moved to the Dreamscape so I could see what was going on in the world."_

_"Dreamscape?" Sonic echoed. "So I'm dreaming? None of this is real?"_

_Chip laughed. "Just because it's a dream doesn't mean it's not real Sonic." Chip flew over to the alter which looked very different. Still made of white limestone a turquoise cloth covered the central part of the stone. Just above the hollow in the alter rested a vase of aquamarine and lapis filled with the flowers he placed on the alter. Next to the vase sat, a simple white mug similar to the one Chip drank from. _

_"Huh?" Sonic took a quick glance around the chamber. No longer looking old and abandoned the temple looked brand new; the walls clean of mildew and vines, the floors polished without a speck of dirt, and the statue in the corner now glowed, shimmered, and felt exactly like the light blue Chaos Emerald that he preferred to work with. _

_"Now I know I'm dreaming," Sonic said amazed. "This place was all ruins a few minutes ago."_

_Chip retrieved the mug from the alter, and brought it over to Sonic. Still puzzled Sonic accepted the mug, and instantly the scent of chocolate assaulted his nose. He took a sip. It tasted exactly like the hot coco he and Chip enjoyed in Holoska._

_"Just because you're dreaming it doesn't mean it isn't real Sonic," Chip explained calmly, "This is just how Amu's temple looks in the Dreamscape, or more specifically how she wants it to look. Here what you want can be real."_

_"Amu?" Sonic remembered the name from Jet's story. "Then The Spirit of the Air is real? All of it is real? Do you know how I'm connected to them?"_

_Chip laughed. "Of course she's real Sonic. I'm real aren't I?" When Sonic continued to look at the little creature perplexed Chip said, "Sonic think! Dark Gaia, Light Gaia. You mean when your friend told you that story you never made the connection?" _

_Sonic shrugged. "I never thought about it that way. Does that mean you know The Spirit of Air? I mean I tried to see if I could talk to her, but she didn't answer me." _

_"Sure she answered you Sonic," Chip replied. "That's why I'm here she asked me to come here and visit with you."_

Coming Soon:

With a growl, the creature advanced on Shadow its fur standing straight up on its back. Shadow could feel its hot breath, and felt his quills rise in response, but he did not back away. Instead, he advanced, and struck him on the nose a second time.

Again the creature backed away howling in pain. Hoping that the creature now understood its folly, Shadow said, "Back off!"

The creature looked at Shadow apparently thinking, and for a moment Shadow actually thought that maybe the creature would leave, but suddenly the wind picked up, and the beast sniffed, then glared at him with fury. "Let her go!" The creature said with a roar. "I want her! Let her go"

Shadow froze shocked that the creature actually spoke. Then in the next instant, he raised his quills again. "Like hell I will," he said. Go back to whatever rock you crawled out of. I'll kill you before I let you near her!"

"No I need her!" the beast cried out. "Please, I need her!"

"Never!" Shadow shouted, then with a shout of, "Chaos Spear!" he managed to score two hits on the creature, who tumbled backwards, and landed on his side. The creature howled again and to his shock, burst into tears.

From above in the tree Shadow heard Amy say in shock, "I know that voice!"


	13. Shadow: Beast or Brother?

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

A/N Sorry Real life interferes with posting. I hope to have the rest of this up next week. Enjoy the new chapter!

**Chapter 12: Shadow; Beast or Brother? **

The wild howling woke Shadow for a moment disorientating him. Did he dream the sound, or did some wild beast now prowl around the area?

A second howl convinced Shadow that the sound was real, and very close to the village. Shadow got out of bed wondering what could make that sound. He stepped onto his front porch only to hear a rustling of the trees above him. He looked up sharply then relaxed seeing only Rouge up in her treehouse.

"Shadow?" Rouge asked sounding worried.

"I'm awake," he replied, a common greeting when seeing her late at night. "Did you hear that howl?"

The noise sounded again illustrating the point. Rouge shuddered and looked worried. "Yeah what do you think it is Shadow?"

"I don't know," Shadow said a growl forming in his throat, "but it's too near the village for comfort. With a curt nod to Rouge Shadow ran off to the village. He didn't see anything at first, but by the well, he found a strange overly large set of footprints.

Footsteps made him turn ready to defend himself, but relaxed when he saw Amy coming over from her house. "This howling noise woke me up. What did you find Shadow?" Amy asked sounding worried.

Shadow analyzed the footprints. "I've never seen anything like this before. This is a four footed creature, but it can walk on two legs also." Shadow frowned at the prints. "Whatever it is it is large and potentially dangerous."

Suddenly Shadow heard the creature nearby. He scooped Amy up into his arms, and leaped for the highest tree.

Amy yelped surprised, Shadow resorted to thought communication telling her _Quiet! It may hear us!_

Amy answered back the same way, _well then don't scare the life out of me!_

Shadow ignored the comeback as unimportant. He kept his focus on the sound of the unknown. He could hear it draw closer growling and snuffling along the ground.

The noise continued to come closer. Shadow drew Amy into a protective grasp. _Be wary, _he warned her this time. _If it can smell us, it may attack. Just do as you're told and I will be able to defend you more efficiently_.

Amy looked, a little unsettled, and Shadow could sense her fear, but she nodded in acknowledgment.

Shadow saw a shadow at the edge of the village. The creature easily outweighed him by one hundred pounds. Shadow couldn't see the creature's color in the dark, but he could see the being's fur waving in the wind, and the sharp claws on a pair of massive hands. It appeared to be hunting for something. Shadow saw its pointed snout close to the ground snuffling along apparently trying to catch a scent.

To Shadow's horror the creature stopped right in front of Amy's house, and sniffed all around. Frightened, Amy clung protectively to Shadow, and thankfully had the sense to keep quiet.

_Do you want me to attack it if it goes into your home? _Shadow asked silently. Amy, not good at thought communication, shook her head no. Shadow got the impression that wisely Amy decided that things could be replaced. She seemed quite content sitting up in the tree where she felt safer. However, Shadow also received a thought from her that she feared the creature was Sonic.

Shadow looked at Amy completely puzzled. _Why on Mobius would you think that's Sonic? _Shadow knew it couldn't be Sonic. Both he and Sonic seemed to be sensitive to each other. Sonic blamed the old sorcerous Cobbler because before Shadow met her he couldn't, but both always could sense the other close by, and if they made an effort to, even over vast distances.

Shadow took his attention off the beast for a second, and closed his eyes in concentration. _Sonic is about five hundred miles away hanging around some old ruins. Why would you think that was Sonic?_

Amy gave Shadow an odd look. He could imagine her wondering how he knew, but she shook her head still unwilling to talk about it. Shadow bit back a sigh and tried to prompt her again, when suddenly the creature lifted its head and reacted to something it smelled, and made a turn toward the tree Shadow and Amy hid in.

Shadow had to make a decision, move and alert the creature, or hold tight and hope it doesn't see them.

The creature made one-step towards them then another and then a third step. Shadow decided. He pushed Amy higher up into the tree. "Go higher I will defend you," he called out. Then he turned to face the beast that now waited at the bottom of their tree.

"Back off!" Shadow roared at the creature punching it in the nose. The creature howled in pain and anger, but it paused long enough for Shadow to leap down and ready himself for the fight.

With a growl, the creature advanced on Shadow its fur standing straight up on its back. Shadow could feel its hot breath, and felt his quills rise in response, but he did not back away. Instead, he advanced, and struck him on the nose a second time.

Again the creature backed away howling in pain. Hoping that the creature now understood its folly Shadow said, "Back off!"

The creature looked at Shadow apparently thinking, and for a moment Shadow actually thought that maybe the creature would leave, but suddenly the wind picked up, and the beast sniffed, then glared at him with fury. "Let her go!" The creature said with a roar. "I want her! Let her go"

Shadow froze shocked that the creature actually spoke. In the next instant, he raised his quills again. "Like hell I will," he said. "Go back to whatever rock you crawled out from. I'll kill you before I let you near her!"

"No I need her!" the beast cried out. "Please, I need her!"

"Never!" Shadow shouted, then with a shout of, "Chaos Spear!" he managed to score two hits on the creature who tumbled backwards, and landed on his side. The creature howled again and to his shock, burst into tears.

From above in the tree Shadow heard Amy say in shock, "I know that voice!"

_She thought the beast was Sonic before. Could this be some other person Amy knows transformed?_ Changing tactics Shadow glared at the weeping monster. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want with Amy Rose?"

"Please," the monster whimpered between his tears, "I need to talk to Amy. I need her help!"

"Benny?" Shadow glanced upward seeing Amy in the lower branches of the tree. At first Shadow wanted to chase Amy back into the upper branches, but her tone of recognition made him wait.

The strange beast snapped his head upwards looking into the tree, hope shining in his eyes. "Amy? AMY please help me!"

"Benny!" Amy jumped down from the tree, and looked the creature in the eye. "Benny is it really you?"

To Shadow's utter shock the fearsome monster curled up into Amy's arms and started crying. "Amy you've got to help me I don't know who can change us back to normal."

Shadow watched Amy hug the strange creature, and began crying herself. "Amy do you know him?" He asked.

"He's my little brother Shadow," Amy said sadly, "I don't know how he got like this, but he's still my brother Benny."

Not sure how to handle this new information, Shadow focused on an apparent inconsistency in his syntax. "Wait did he just say change _**us**_ back to normal?"

Coming Soon:

Something about the way Amy said that made Shadow face her. "I told you he's about five hundred miles from here. Do you know why he's not around?"

Amy hung her head down sadly. "It's all my fault Shadow. I made him run away." She looked up and saw Shadow's cold stern gaze on her waiting for her to explain. "I….I tried to get into his head so we could find out about his nightmares, but he caught me at it. I tried to get him to understand but he pulled away from me and ran off. It wasn't until you told me tonight that I even knew where he went."

Shadow frowned deeply at the pink hedgehog. Amy knew her skills at acupressure might not be strong enough to get Sonic to admit to his dreams. Why did she risk trying? Then again…

"That might be to our advantage," Shadow said. "If Sonic has taken one of his mini vacations away from us, he won't find out about this for a while." He turned to Benny grinning mischievously. "What do you think this magic person will do if a black hedgehog shows up instead of the blue one?"

Benny looked thoughtful. "Hmmm well Jayce and that Djinn guy are always going on about how they want revenge on Sonic, so I guess if you show up they'll be pretty pissed."

Shadow's nodded satisfied. "I can deal with angry. Angry will make our adversaries make mistakes. I am more than willing to deal with these miscreants now, if that means not rescuing Sonic later."


	14. Substitute Werehog Substitute Hedgehog

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Yay I have some time off so I'll try to post more. Special Thanks to Shiny Shiny9 who helped me spell werehog. I am sooo bad a spelling but most of you know that already. On with the story!

**Chapter 13 Shadow: Substitute Werehog Substitute Hedgehog**

Shadow stared out past the edge of the island looking back towards the jungle below Angel Island. For lack of a better idea, Shadow and Amy took Benny to Knuckles. The Echidna guardian looked at Benny a bit startled, but not with the complete amazement, Shadow experienced. In fact, he took the transformed hedgehog so calmly Shadow suspected that Knuckles must know something about what was going on.

Behind Shadow, Amy paced nervously. Knuckles shooed both Amy and Shadow away, and chose to interview her brother in the shrine of the ancestral echidnas. Shadow wondered if the spirits in the shrine were helping Knuckles with Amy's brother.

"What could have happened to him, Shadow?' Amy asked for the tenth time. "How in the world did my brother get turned into a werehog?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow at that. _Why in the world did Amy have a name for the condition unless..._ "What I want to know is why you thought your brother was Sonic at first. Did something like this happen to him once?" He asked her.

Amy's eyes widened in panic, and her breath caught in her throat. She tried to sound calm, but Shadow could hear her voice tremble nervously. "What makes you say that Shadow?"

Shadow frowned. He did not want to play guessing games. He wanted answers. "You may not be very good at thought communication, but you project your emotions quite well. Your first thought when you saw your brother was that he was Sonic. That wouldn't make much sense unless he suffered from the condition before. You even have a name for it"

Amy winced then closed her eyes in concentration. Shadow sensed that while she wanted to think very carefully before she opened her mouth again, she also felt conflicted. She wanted to tell Shadow, but she didn't want to break her promise to Sonic.

Shadow sighed. "You know by thinking about it you are giving me my answer. How did it happen?"

Amy covered her face with her hands, shook her head violently embarrassed, radiating guilt and her internal conflict.

Shadow glared at her for a moment annoyed, then simply turned on his heel, and left the area. Curious, but wary, Shadow stood at the mouth of the cave where Knuckles had his ancestral shrine. Shadow wanted to hear the interview with Amy's brother, but he knew that the spirits of Knuckles ancestors were strong and active. He remembered clearly, when Knuckles took Sonic into the shrine for the first time. Knuckles might have wanted him there, but it seemed that a few of the lone echidna's ancestors wanted to scare Sonic away. He closed his eyes recalling the wild frightened paranoid look in Sonic's eyes until Knuckles insisted they stop.

Suddenly Shadow heard a slight soft giggle. He spun around trying to pinpoint the sound, but saw nothing. Still he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. When he heard the sound again behind him, he turned back to the cave entrance. With his enhanced vision, he could almost see the outline of someone before him. The image shimmered and wavered, and Shadow couldn't tell who the individual was. He heard the giggling again, but this time from in front of him.

The shimmering outline suddenly vanished replaced by a glowing orange light. The orb circled Shadow once still laughing, and then returned to the tunnel hovering within the cave entrance just out of Shadow's reach. Shadow took two steps toward the light, which moved further into the tunnel. Shadow took a third step following the orb when suddenly he realized that the spirit wanted him to follow her. Stubbornly Shadow planted his feet in the soft volcanic sand and crossed his arms across his chest. "We'll now that I figured out what you want," he said stubbornly, "give me a good reason why I should."

Shadow swore he heard the orb sigh. It then vanished from his sight. Not sure what he should do Shadow began to turn to leave the tunnel when he heard Knuckles call out from the other end of the tunnel. "Shadow? Shadow if that's you, come on in. We have to talk."

Wondering how Knuckles knew he was here, Shadow moved forward gingerly to the mouth of the tunnel that opened into the dark cavern decorated with about fifty to sixty white pillars. To the back of the cave stood a polished pink marble alter surrounded by torches. Amy's brother paced nervously around while Knuckles had his hands on one of the carved white pillars. He turned and faced Shadow when he drew closer.

"Is Amy okay?" Knuckles asked.

Shadow shrugged. "She seems well enough for being worried about her brother, but here is the interesting thing, before she recognized him as her brother she thought perhaps that it might be Sonic."

Knuckles picked up the idea instantly. "If that's the 'physical' change Amy mentioned before on Planet Gaia it would start to explain Sonic's aversion to Dark Chaos Energy. Did she tell you anything else?"

Shadow shook his head no. "She still does not wish to speak of what happened to Sonic on Planet Gaia, but I believe you are right."

"Interesting..." Knuckles said slowly. "I wish she would tell us how it happened. Then I might know how to help her brother. From what he's telling me, some friends of his found some magic item that had a creature trapped inside. That creature promised them power then transformed the four of them into this."

"Jayce asked for the power," Benny said, joining the conversation, "he said he wanted to be more powerful than Sonic. He likes being like this, he's been bulling everyone in the village."

Knuckles looked up at the werehog curious. "Was this Jayce a bully before?"

Benny looked uncomfortable. "A little I guess. Not mean though. He just let everyone know he was the best in the village, but now it's like he enjoys watching people run from him. He's chased everyone up into the caves to the west of the village."

Knuckles nodded. "The dark energy from the transformation is probably making him act that way. What can you tell us about the creature that transformed you?"

Looking slightly puzzled Benny began, "We were in one of the old temples to the south of the village, and-"

"You mean the temples Dad, Jules, and all the elders always tell us to stay out of?" Amy asked from the entrance to the cavern. She navigated her way through the forest of white pillars to join them. "I couldn't stand waiting outside all by myself anymore." She looked at Knuckles hopeful.

Knuckles looked at a pillar to his left, closed his eyes for a moment, and then sighed opening them again. "We might as well take this conversation out by The Master Emerald anyway. My ancestors really couldn't tell me much except that the dark energy used on him might have come from one of the two porthole books Sonic wanted to get rid of."

"Porthole books?" Amy asked.

Knuckles nodded and gestured for everyone to follow him. "Remember the night of the hurricane when Sonic wanted to get rid of those two books?"

"Humph," Amy snorted following behind. "Sonic told me once that one of those books sucked him in where he ended up fighting knights and dragons and wizards. I thought he was lying to make up for standing me up for a date."

Knuckles chuckled. "I hate to tell you Amy, but Sonic was most likely telling you the truth, or at least what he understood of it. He didn't get sucked into the book; rather the book is a porthole into a different dimension. I don't doubt that someone or something in both those books called Sonic in for a time. When you're A Child of The Seven, and your nature is to maintain the balance, things like that happen to you."

"What's all this got to do with me though?" Benny asked with a growl. He plopped down into the grass by the alter of The Master Emerald dejected.

Knuckles looked up at The Master Emerald for a moment before facing Benny with his arms folded. "Because my ancestors said that the energy used to transform you came from one of those two books. Now you're telling me that you were messing about in an old temple. The ancient temples are full of portholes to strange places."

Shadow picked up on the thought instantly. "Something from one of those books found its way to a porthole in the temple then encountered this Jayce and the rest of you."

Benny nodded, but Amy looked angry. "Wait Jayce had you exploring the old temples? Is he still trying to find a way to be better than Sonic?"

Benny scratched his neck fur nervously. "Well some rich old wolf merchant came through two weeks ago. He found out Jules and Bernadette were Sonic's parents and tried to give her this huge sapphire broach cuz Sonic saved him and his caravan from a landslide a few weeks earlier. Sonic didn't take any payment for helping him, and he wanted to thank him. Jules wanted to throw the old guy out on his tail after that, and well it started Jayce back on his 'I've got to be better than Sonic' spree again."

Amy rolled her eyes. And he just happened to find something that turned you all into werehogs?"

Benny shook his head at first. "No Winslow found it first, and once that guy knew that Jayce hated Sonic he promised Jayce the power to be better than him." Benny shook his head sadly. "That Djinn guy changed him though. He's putting ideas into Jayce's head that I don't like. I don't know what that other guy has against Sonic, but I don't want anything to do with it."

"But why come to me Benny?" Amy asked. "What did you think I could do for you?"

"I don't know," Benny admitted with a grumble. "I...I just couldn't be around Jayce and the guys anymore. Our parents were afraid of me, and I figured that if anyone could help us Sonic could."

"And your friends just let you go, knowing that you might return with Sonic?" Shadow asked with a snarl. He shook his head firmly, and looked right at Knuckles. "I don't like it. It sounds like a trap."

"Agreed," Knuckles said, "but even knowing that won't stop Sonic from trying to help."

Suddenly angry, Amy said, "Benny would never betray Sonic!"

At the same time, Benny shook his head no. "No I swear I wouldn't do that! It would break Amy's heart if something happened to Sonic!"

"We didn't say you were in on the trap, Benny," Knuckles explained. "I'll just bet this Jayce or the guy that transformed you knew you didn't like what was going on. They _let_ you run away knowing you would most likely go find Sonic. I'll even bet the moment they knew you opposed them they went out of their way to bully you."

Benny sighed. "They did."

"So let them suffer," Amy said with a snort. "They didn't want to have anything to do with Sonic anyway. His own father yelled at him when he saved us from Eggman. In Jules's eyes, Jayce was Mister Perfect. They deserve what their getting. Let's just cure Benny."

"Not sure if I can," Knuckles said worried. "I'm a guardian, and even though my spiritual ancestors have been teaching me some shamanistic magic, I don't know if they could use me to reverse this spell."

"What of the Kitsune sorcerous, Cobbler?" Shadow asked. "Could her power break the spell on Amy's brother?"

"You'd have to ask her that," Knuckles said.

"Wait a minute!" Benny said with a slight roar. "We have to go back home! Jayce chased everyone out of the village into the caves in the mountains. He's got our parents and Sonic's parents hostage. That magic guy talked him into it."

Shadow snarled back his answer. "They _are_ baiting the trap! I don't know who had the power to transform you into this creature, but he knows Sonic well enough that no matter how badly he was treated by his own he would return to rescue them."

"So we don't let Sonic find out, at least not for a while. Sonic isn't around right now anyway." Amy said.

Something about the way Amy said that made Shadow face her. "I told you he's about five hundred miles from here. Do you know why he's not around?"

Amy hung her head down sadly. "It's all my fault Shadow. I made him run away." She looked up and saw Shadow's cold stern gaze on her waiting for her to explain. "I….I tried to get into his head so we could find out about his nightmares, but he caught me at it. I tried to get him to understand, but he pulled away from me and ran off. It wasn't until you told me tonight that I even knew where he went."

Shadow frowned deeply at the pink hedgehog. Amy knew her skills at acupressure might not be strong enough to get Sonic to admit to his dreams. Why did she risk trying? Then again…

"That might be to our advantage," Shadow said. "If Sonic has taken one of his mini vacations away from us, he won't find out about this for a while." He turned to Benny grinning mischievously. "What do you think this magic person will do if a black hedgehog shows up instead of the blue one?"

Benny looked thoughtful. "Hmmm well Jayce and that Djinn guy are always going on about how they want revenge on Sonic, so I guess if you show up they'll be pretty pissed."

Shadow's nodded satisfied. "I can deal with angry. Angry will make our adversaries make mistakes. I am more than willing to deal with these miscreants now, if that means not rescuing Sonic later."

Amy giggled. Knuckles laughed too. Benny looked at Shadow suspicious. "Dude, are you serious? I mean I know your tough, but Jayce is strong now, and that other dude, I mean look at what he did to me!"

Amy and Knuckles shared smiles with Shadow. "Trust me Benny," Amy said with a giggle, "Shadow can take care of Jayce."

"Let's begin now," Shadow said. He could feel his Chaos Emerald tucked into his quills. He didn't need any more preparation than that. "I will take your brother and return to your village. Once I assess the situation there I will know what needs to be done."

"Wait, I'm going with you," Amy said, coming closer.

Benny and Shadow both frowned. "I'm not sure that's a good idea sis," Benny said. "You know how Jayce is about you. The last thing we need is to give him and his buddy an excuse to get another hostage."

"I agree," Shadow said firmly. "You will be placing yourself in danger if you come."

"Like I'm not in danger every time Eggman comes around?" Amy asked. "It's my family Shadow, and frankly we both know you're not really a people person. You need me along."

"Amy-" Benny began, but Shadow considered Amy's argument. "Very well," he said, "but you'd better follow my instructions, and not complain. I was trained in tactics, and might react to something without telling you. You seem to have a problem with that."

Benny laughed, "Amy, listen to someone? Dude you don't know her very well do you?" Shadow shrugged.

Knuckles frowned. "If you're both going to go, I'm not going to stop you. I do think you should tell Sonic."

Shadow shook his head a definite no. "With Sonic's current status, I would rather him sit this fight out. We are dealing with an unknown magic user with a specific vendetta. I intend to try to find as many Chaos Emeralds as I can. You yourself said that Sonic in his current condition might not even draw power from the Emeralds. It's better that we not find out how he would react to the Dark Chaos Emerald, or the dark energies of our adversary. "

Knuckles eyed Shadow speculatively, "Just take care of Amy then. Chaos only knows what Sonic would do if something happens to her."

Shadow nodded. "Of course; Amy, meet me by my home in twenty minutes, prepared to go. I'm going to visit Doctor Eggman, and borrow his Chaos Emeralds.

"Will do, Shadow," Amy said.

Coming Soon:

Amy then turned her attention to the werehog in the bed. "So this is supposed to impress me Jayce? Because I'll tell you now, kidnapping my parents doesn't impress me. Nor does acting like a jerk, and using Benny to bring you Sonic."

"Do you really think I care about what you think Ames?" The rust colored werehog said, stretching out, and placing his hands behind his head. "I'm in charge now. Everyone has to do what I say; even that loser Sonic." Eying Shadow who bristled at Amy's side he asked, "What did happen to that chump anyway? Did you finally ditch him? Is this your new boyfriend?"

Shadow said nothing. When he saw Amy open her mouth to speak again he thought at her. _Always let your opponents underestimate you! _Amy with a sharp glance at Shadow shut her mouth again.

"Watch out for Blackie Jayce." the green werehog said. "He moves like Sonic gone psychopath."


	15. The Beasts in their Lairs

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

**CHAPTER 14 Shadow: The Beasts in their Lairs: **

Shadow talked Doctor Eggman into giving up his two Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles gave him the purple one, and Tails handed over his yellow Chaos Emerald once he knew what Shadow wanted it for. The little fox kit even checked Sonic's house to find his cyan emerald, but he couldn't find it. Shadow suspected that Sonic copied his habit of carrying around his Chaos emerald around just in case he needed the extra energy.

_So Sonic probably has his emerald, that leaves one Chaos knows where. My chaos sense isn't telling me anything, so it's most likely out of range. If we're lucky, we'll run into it out wherever._

Shadow heard Amy and her brother walking up the narrow path to his home. Amy seemed a little winded. Once she saw him, she asked. "Why don't you move closer to the village?"

Shadow suppressed a smirk. "I like it here." He said simply. Then going into business mode he asked. "I do not mean to offend you Benny, but have you felt the effects of the dark energy used to transform you?"

Amy gasped. "I never even thought of that! How have you been feeling Benny?"

Benny growled a little under his breath and scratched his head. "I don't know," he whinnied. "Scared mostly, and confused. It's like my thoughts are all a jumble and I don't know who to trust anymore." Shadow could see Benny tremble with emotion trying to describe his feelings. Then Benny surprised Shadow by saying. "I don't know if that guy who changed me can make me turn on you guys, but I'm going to try to fight it."

"That was not what I was thinking of, but it is a good thought," Shadow said impressed. "But I wondered if we could use the dark energy from your transformation to give me the image we need to perform a chaos control."

"A what?" Benny asked.

"You'll see," Shadow said calmly. "Right now I want you to think about this friend of yours; picture him in your mind, and think about how you feel about this mess you have found yourself in."

Benny closed his eyes, growling under his breath. "You want me angry at Jayce," he said.

"Dark energy comes from dark emotions," Shadow explained. "I can't use the energy but I can sense and interpret it. I'm hoping to use that to transport us to where your friend is."

Benny opened his eyes, and gave Shadow a puzzled look. With a small shrug, he closed his eyes again. Shadow closed his eyes, and tried to focus on the energy the young werehog radiated. Finally, he saw in his mind an image of a rust colored werehog in a deserted village. With a quick "Chaos Control!" he transported the three of them to the location.

Amy shut her eyes, and tightened her grip on Shadow. She hated using Chaos Control to travel. "One of these days I'm going to get sick from that," she complained.

Benny didn't look that good either. "Oooh my stomach. Do you guys always do this?"

Shadow didn't bother answering either one of them. He instantly took in his surroundings. The area looked like a happy little village. Bright yellow painted houses made of compressed dirt with thatched roofs lined a dirt road. Flowerbeds framed several homes. Shadow saw a huge garden in the back of one house, and when Amy ran towards it, he realized it must be her parents' home.

"Mom, Dad?" Amy called out. Shadow didn't hear anything. This reminded him of when he and Rouge found that evergreen planet where the Meterex took their prisoners to have the trees there absorb them. _What was it Rouge said about the place? Not quiet but creepy._ The lack of sounds except for the three of them bothered Shadow who relied on his advanced senses to alert him to enemies.

"Damn," Benny said growling under his breath. "What did Jayce do while I was away? They were here when I left."

Shadow thought about that. "If Jayce did plan to use you to bring Sonic here he is increasing the feeling of threat. He most likely has your parents imprisoned somewhere else."

"But where?" Amy asked

_If Sonic came like they planned on..._ Shadow thought. Suddenly he had it. "Benny, where do Sonic's Parents live?"

"About five houses from ours. Wh-" Benny suddenly broke off understanding.

Shadow nodded. He gestured for them to be quiet, and stretched his enhanced senses to their greatest range. Sure enough, he could hear more than three heartbeats. Shadow frowned. _I think we're being watched, _he thought loud enough for Amy to hear him.

Amy's eyes widened, but then she smiled, and winked. Loudly she announced. "Well Mom and Dad aren't here. Maybe we should check the neighbors' houses."

"Agreed," Shadow replied. He, Amy and Benny made a token search of the nearby houses, but when they drew near to the fifth house Benny nodded to Shadow warning him, that this house belonged to Sonic's parents.

Shadow prepared a small charge of Chaos energy in his hand in case he had to fight. Tensed for battle he gestured for Amy to open the door. Shadow heard their unseen observers' heartbeats quicken, and their feet shuffle preparing to attack.

Shadow changed tactics. He grabbed both Benny and Amy, pulled them close to his body, and with a shout of "Chaos Blast!" used a tiny amount of chaos energy to force their attackers back causing them to hit the walls of the house.

Now Shadow could see his attackers. One lime green and one turquoise werehog were sprawled in a heap under an overturned yellow couch and matching love seat. Several of the paintings on the striped papered wall of other hedgehogs were in disarray hanging haphazardly on their nails. Shadow now took time to look around the room. One of the two side tables lay smashed in tiny pieces. The other side table lay upended next to the coffee table, which had split neatly in two.

"Ohhh Man!" The green hedgehog moaned. "What hit us?"

"I did," Shadow replied calmly. "You didn't think I would let you ambush me did you?"

That got the two werehogs to shake their heads out, and get up to face Shadow. "You're not Sonic!" the turquoise hedgehog said surprised.

"Felling a grim satisfaction Shadow told them, "I am Shadow the Hedgehog! Where are the parents of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Amy Rose?"

The green werehog with a nasty sneer said, "We don't need to tell you anything Blackie!"

"Stop being a jerk Winslow!" Benny shot back growling.

Shadow just smiled, and generated another Chaos spear in his hand. "I would regret destroying the property of Sonic's parents, but if you don't tell me where they are I'm going to find out what roasted werehog smells like."

That made both werehogs rise to their feet with their hackles raised and growling. Shadow merely smiled, and released the energy. "Chaos Spear!"

Shadow made the two scramble, and dodge out of the way of his attacks. They both tried to grab Shadow, but Shadow avoided them the way he avoided the Doctor's robots. He managed to score a few homing attacks on their heads which caused them both to retreat into another room. They shut the door behind them, but Shadow simply produced another Chaos Spear, and blew the door away.

Before the dust cleared Shadow heard a muffled "The door!" He waved away the dust cloud to see a deep rust colored werehog lounging on a bed. Chained to the headboard were four hedgehogs, two male, two female. The males sported blue and brown spikes, the females pink and powder blue. Shadow knew then that they found Sonic's and Amy's parents.

Amy saw them too. "Mom! Dad," she called out worriedly.

All four hedgehogs looking a little thin and tired looked up in surprise. "Amy!" The violet hedgehog cried out.

Amy then turned her attention to the werehog in the bed. "So this is supposed to impress me Jayce? Because I'll tell you now, kidnapping my parents doesn't impress me. Nor does acting like a jerk, and using Benny to bring you Sonic."

"Do you really think I care about what impresses you Ames?" The rust colored werehog said, stretching out, and placing his hands behind his head. "I'm in charge now. Everyone has to do what I say even that loser Sonic." Eying Shadow who bristled at Amy's side he asked, "What did happen to that chump anyway? Did you finally ditch him? Is this your new boyfriend?"

Shadow said nothing. When he saw Amy open her mouth to speak again he thought at her, _always let your opponents underestimate you! _Amy, with a sharp glance at Shadow, shut her mouth again.

"Watch out for Blackie Jayce." the green werehog said. "He moves like Sonic gone psychopath."

Shadow ignored the insult. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog," he told them. "I am a friend of Amy and Sonic, and I would appreciate it if you released their parents NOW!"

Jayce sat up in the bed, and snarled at Shadow revealing huge razor sharp teeth stained a dingy yellow. Behind him, Shadow felt Amy tuck herself into her brother's massive arms frightened, but he stood his ground.

"I told you shrimp I'm in charge here! Where is Sonic? You were supposed to bring him!" Jayce asked angrily.

"Sonic is on vacation," Shadow replied snidely, "you'll just have to deal with the Ultimate Life Form instead."

That caused Jayce to laugh. "You? You're the Ultimate Life Form. What a joke!" He looked at his two lackeys. "What are you two idiots waiting for? Get him!"

Shadow glared at the two other werehogs, and both of them shook their heads. "No way man," the turquoise one said. "You want Psycho hedgehog? You get him."

Fortunately, Shadow made himself ready. Jayce sprang from the bed in one move, and made to pounce on Shadow, but Shadow started to use short spurts of Chaos Control to teleport from spot to spot. No matter what the three werehogs did, they could not seem to catch Shadow.

"What the hell?"

"This guy is faster than Sonic!"

"When I get my hands on this twerp he's gonna get it!"

For a brief second Shadow appeared next to Amy and Benny. "Try to get your parents free! They won't tolerate this game for much longer and I can't use a Chaos Blast with you guys here!"

Wisely, Amy did not bother replying, and just pulled Benny with her to the edge of the bed. Then Benny looked up at the lamp that rested on the bed.

"No Amy we need that lamp!" He told her, "The genie can fix everything!"

"Genie? Benny this isn't the Arabian nights!" Amy told him.

"No trust me Amy, the lamp is important!" Benny shoved Amy up onto the bed so she could crawl to the other side to grab the lamp on the opposite bed stand. Just when Amy fought her way past the tangle of blankets Jayce saw her out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh no you don't!" He shouted. Shadow watched Jayce stretch his arm out twice its normal length, and snatched the lamp away from Amy just when she put her hand on the handle. Jayce gave the lamp a shake and called. "Hey Razor get out here!"

To Shadow's shock and surprise a strange looking purple half human creature wearing the most ridiculous ballooning pants, appeared in a puff of smoke. "I told you to alert me to when the rat showed up!" He bellowed.

"This guy knows where he is!" Jayce said pointing at Shadow. "We need him to tell us where Sonic is!"

The being turned slowly, and looked down at Shadow. "Oh another rat? Getting him to tell us what he knows will be easy."

Shadow suddenly decided that he hated these odds. Whoever this was, just appeared out of nowhere. Shadow suspected that he transformed Jayce, Benny and the others into werehogs, and the tips of Shadow's quills felt filled with static energy due to his Chaos Sense. This being had power, a lot of it, and Shadow knew better than to engage a powerful enemy he knew nothing about. He was _not_ Sonic who flung himself into danger without thinking.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy resort to her hammer, and smash the bed freeing hers and Sonic's parents from the bed leaving the chains intact. Thinking Quickly Shadow called out, "Chaos Control!" And paused time in his immediate vicinity freezing everyone. He then moved to where Amy and Benny had the others. He then performed a second Chaos Control teleporting them back to Amy's house. That broke them out of the time freeze.

"What? How did we get here?" The pink female asked.

"Oooo my stomach" the blue female complained.

The two males stared at Shadow puzzled, but he did not care. He used a tiny bit of Chaos Energy to break the locks of the chains. "That won't confuse them for long. We need to get further away." He turned to the two fathers. "Is there a safe haven where we can go?"

The violet male a little overwhelmed simply nodded, rubbing his wrists. "There are some Caves up further into the mountains where we shelter if there is bad weather. That's where most of the village has been hold up. "

Shadow peered out the windows at the nearby mountains. Using his enhanced vision, he thought he saw some caves in the distance. Nodding to himself, he told the others, "Let's go then. Gather close."

"Amy who is this?" The violet male asked with a slight frown to his face. The blue hedgehog positively glared.

"He's a friend dad," Amy said with a sigh. "Just do what he says,"

Shadow nodded glad for the support from Amy. "Close your eyes," he warned, "this is a bit disorientating." Shadow took in a deep breath, and called out "Chaos Control!"

Instantly Shadow found himself and the others at the mouth of a cave. Huge grey green lichen covered boulders hung above the cave, and off to the sides. Remembering his training Shadow took in every bit of information with his enhanced senses. He could smell wood smoke and other hedgehogs nearby along with wet vegetation, and stone. His ears picked up the sounds of others murmuring off to the left, but he could not tell how many others were about. Suddenly he heard angry voices and footsteps coming towards them.

"Company's coming," Shadow warned the others. At that moment, several hedgehogs of various colors came out armed with sticks, torches, and pitchforks glaring hatefully at Benny. Shadow gestured to Amy's father, and waved everyone else behind them.

Amy's Father tried to calm the group down. "Stand down boys it's all right. They helped us escape, even Benny."

A deep green hedgehog, the apparent leader of the group pointed with his torch at Benny. "How do we know he won't turn on us, and hand us all over to that monster?"

That got Amy mad. "My brother would never-" she began, but Benny cut her off.

"You don't know that Ames," he said sadly. "I don't know if the genie can control me I...I don't want to help Jayce, but I don't know if they can make me turn on you guys. I'll go."

"Wait," Shadow commanded. He locked eyes with Amy. "Take him further up into the mountains, and help him find his own shelter."

"I'll go," the pink hedgehog volunteered. "I think you and Amy need to talk to the elders about what you can do to help us." Then she turned to Benny, "Come along dear, you can tell me what happened."

Benny gave a doubtful look at his mother, but followed behind her. Now Shadow faced the strange male hedgehogs and frowned.

Coming Soon:

Tails nodded. "They're worried about you Sonic; I'm worried about you too. You've never had nightmares like that before."

"I wish I could remember them," Sonic said pensively, "I know their important and I wake up feeling like I'm drowning, but I know the dreams aren't about water, only that they're scaring me that much."

"Cobbler said you can't remember the dreams because you don't want to confront the fear." Tails said. "You have to work out what it is you're afraid of and then figure out why."

Sonic nodded in agreement then noticed what the young kitsune said. "Cobbler said? Miles, have you been sneaking around and dream visiting your grandmother behind my back?"


	16. Racing Headlong into a Nightmare

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Thanks for all the great Reviews! I love the feedback!

CHAPTER 15 Sonic: Racing headlong into a Nightmare

_"Wait he did?" Sonic sipped his coco and listen to his friend Chip spin his tale. "My Dad hates old temples."_

_"Your mother was sick," Chip explained. "He was willing to look for a legend if that meant saving her, but they upset the balance of this world somehow so Amu asked him to help her restore it."_

_"And Dad said no?" Sonic sighed, and took another sip. It was weird no matter how much he drank the cup always stayed full. "That sounds like Dad. He hates fighting or getting involved." _

_The little creature that represented the spirit of light nodded sadly. "He ran away from her, and something had to be done so she gave you all the gifts she would have given to your father. She already knew you were going to be aligned with an amazing amount of light energies so she knew if you had her gifts you would use them to help others, and maintain the balance."_

_Sonic chuckled. "So Shadow is right about me. I am hard wired to help others, but she didn't have anything to do with that part?_

_Chip shook his head and smiled. Your mom kind of did. She grew up hearing stories about The Seven, and every day asked one member to give you their blessing."_

_"And they did?" Sonic asked. At Chip's confirmation, Sonic stopped and thought for a moment. 'What about the spirit of water. We've never been on good terms." _

_Chip laughed. "You have to wonder? The Spirit of Water is Chaos, Sonic. He was imprisoned in The Master Emerald ages before you were born."_

_"Which means I never got his blessing! That explains a lot!"_

_Chip nodded. Amu just made sure you had a little extra. She knew that you would want to protect others._

Sonic!

_Sonic thought he heard someone calling for him but that couldn't be. He was dreaming. _

_Chip heard it too. "Oh your friend with the two tails is looking for you! I think you need to wake up and talk to him. "_

_Sonic didn't understand. "I need to what?"_

_"You have to wake up Sonic"_

_"Huh?"_

"Sonic, Sonic, You have to wake up." The persistent youthful voice and the hand shaking his shoulder finally registered in his mind as here and real. He opened his eyes and saw Tails standing over him looking concerned.

"Tails?" Sonic forced out. He shook his head trying to clear it.

Tails smiled. "The one and only. Are you okay Sonic? You must have been sleeping pretty deep not to hear me, and it was kinda hard to wake you up. "

Sonic shook his head again, and tried to focus on the here and now. "I just had the weirdest dream about Chip. He told me you were looking for me. It felt so real!"

Tails gave his best friend a long speculative look. "Real like the dreams you have of Cobbler real? Like when she summons you?"

Sonic's eyes widen in realization. "Exactly like that! Does that mean I was really talking to Chip?"

"You were probably in the dreamscape. That's why I couldn't wake you up." Tails stopped talking, and gave Sonic another one of those long looks.

Sonic sighed. "I guess Amy told everyone about how I lost it before huh?"

Tails shook his head no. "She said she upset you, it was her fault, and she only said something after everyone wondered where you were-, and oh my gosh! that's why I came looking for you!" Quickly Tails told Sonic about finding Benny and his old rival Jayce and that Amy and Shadow went off to his old village to see if they could help.

"Hmmmm," Sonic thought to himself. "Shadow and Amy have been getting pretty chummy lately. He's probably the one who told Rouge to teach Amy acupressure."

"Rouge taught Amy acupressure?" Tails asked, shuddering. "Boy are you in trouble!"

Sonic laughed. "Don't I know it! She was trying to get something out of my head." Sonic suddenly had a notion. "Tails," he asked with a heavy sigh, "who else knows about my nightmares besides just you now?"

Tails namesakes puffed out. He looked at Sonic with a pensive expression. That told Sonic more than enough. "It's not your fault kiddo. Amy said I had a nightmare the night of the hurricane. I'm guessing that's how Shadow and Knuckles found out too. "

Tails nodded. "They're worried about you Sonic; I'm worried about you. You've never had nightmares like that before."

"I wish I could remember them," Sonic said pensively, "I know their important and I wake up feeling like I'm drowning, but I know the dreams aren't about water, only that they're scaring me that much."

"Cobbler said you can't remember the dreams because you don't want to confront the fear." Tails said. "You have to work out what it is you're afraid of and then figure out why."

Sonic nodded in agreement then noticed what the young kitsune said. "Cobbler said? Miles, have you been sneaking around and dream visiting your grandmother behind my back?"

Tails mock winced. "Hey no need to bring my name into it."

"But safe to do so?" Sonic asked. When Tails nodded, Sonic did so understanding. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He smelled the mildew in the air, but there was also the scent of the flowers he picked and oddly enough the ocean. "I feel it now; you know; that connection I'm supposed to have to the spirit of air. I can feel someone watching me. I even tried to talk to her. That's when I started dreaming of Chip. Why won't she come and talk to me?"

"Hmmmm," to Sonic's surprise Tails took the question seriously. "Amu values freedom. She probably wants you to make your own decisions on stuff."

"I guess," Sonic said, secretly pleased that the spirit didn't want to control him. "Still I'd like ask her why she gave me the power in the first place. There has to be more to it than what Chip told me."

"She might want you to discover the answer to that for yourself, "Tails chuckled.

Sonic sighed. "I guess, "Chip said something like that too." Still I'd love to know why me? Why did she give me power before I was even born?" For no reason at all a random thought made Sonic shiver. "I think about some enemy of mine just handing Jayce power. I don't know why he was always jealous of me. He'd always bully me, and anytime there was trouble my dad would blame me for it."

Tails wondered if he could talk Sonic out of going to the rescue. "Shadow and Knuckles think that Jayce let Benny escape to trap you. Amy said that the village didn't deserve your help anyway, and you should just not bother."

Sonic frowned deeply. "Where did you get that attitude from? Not from me. You know better than that! If Jayce is causing that much trouble you know I have to stop him."

With a sigh and a smile, Tails shook his head. "I know. I was just hoping I could talk you out of it. You really don't have to go. Shadow and Amy figured if he went, it would throw a wrench into their plans, so they left yesterday. Knuckles and I thought you should know anyway."

The puzzled frown on Sonic's features grew deeper. "Shadow and Amy already headed out to South Island?"

"They left yesterday afternoon. It took me that long to find you." Tails explained.

"Then I'd better get over there fast." Sonic said. "Thanks buddy."

"Sonic wait," Tails stopped him before he could run out of the chapel. "Shadow and Knuckles think that Jayce and the guy that gave him power are setting a trap for you."

"I figured," Sonic answered, "but if something happens and I'm not there I'll never forgive myself. I promise I'll be careful."

Tails tried one last time to dissuade Sonic. "Are you sure you're up to this Sonic? You haven't been getting enough sleep lately."

Sonic looked down sternly at Tails. "Boy you really don't want me to go. I'll be fine; I just took a nap here anyway. I can handle Jayce, and whatever pain in the neck he found. You'll see I'll be home in a day or two." With a grin and a thumbs up Sonic ran off heading for a home he left long ago.

Tails watched Sonic run off his tails twitching unhappily. Please be careful," Tails said. Then he turned to the statue of The Spirit of Air, and added, "And please please watch over Sonic, and protect him from his enemies."

Coming Soon!

He watched Sonic pause at the edge of the village, and begin to follow enemy territory rules. _Good_, Shadow thought approvingly _at least he is taking the threat seriously_.

"Shadow, can you use that think talk to call Sonic?" Amy asked.

Shadow shook his head no. "I don't want to distract him. It's better I go down there myself and-"

Shadow broke off when he saw the rust colored werehog and his two fellows rush to ambush Sonic.

At first Sonic fought with his characteristic ease and style, but when he suddenly faced Jayce, Shadow saw a strange blank look come over Sonic's face, and then after that fear.

_Oh no,_ Shadow thought _not now! _


	17. Shadow & Sonic: Nightmares in the flesh

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

CHAPTER 16 Shadow & Sonic: Nightmares in the flesh

"Things remained at a stalemate after that for three weeks, and then they ambushed the four of us one by one; that was two weeks ago. Benny disappeared not long after that." Carl, Amy's father, explained

Shadow accepted a mug of soup from one of the younger hedgehogs around here. "Kidnapping his own parents must have been the last straw for him." Shadow thought aloud. He took a sip of the tomato soup letting the warmth slide down his throat. "Before that how did Benny act with the others?"

Sonic's mother sighed. "He followed along with the others, but he didn't want to. Jayce and the others treated him horribly. They always bullied him if they couldn't terrorize the rest of us."

Shadow nodded then turned back to Amy and Benny's father. "A friend told me once that being infected with dark energy makes people unusually aggressive, or depressed. Since his transformation have you seen any sign that you son is so inflicted?"

Carl frowned in thought. "We'll he seems a little more depressed than is normal for him, but then again turning into a monster would depress anyone."

"He seemed sad, and frightened," Amy added, but not like the people I saw on planet Gaia."

"But by his own admission your brother cannot tell if the being we saw can control him through this transformation." Shadow said evenly. "It's best he separates himself from the rest of us, and that we have a watch about him."

"So what can we do about Jayce, and that freak creature that changed them?" Sonic's father asked.

Shadow closed his eyes in thought. "I can deal with Jayce. It is the magic creature that concerns me. If he could transform the others there is no telling what he can do. Sonic never told me about such a creature."

Amy sighed, and plopped herself onto a rock to sit. "He told me and Tails twice he got sucked into a book where he had to help the people in the book. I thought he dreamed it, but you said the books had power, and Knuckles said that the energy that changed Benny was like the energy from the books."

Shadow nodded again. A young hedgehog ran up and whispered something to Amy's father, but Shadow ignored it. Instead, he turned to Amy and said, "remind me the next time we see Sonic that I need to pin him to the ground, and ask him what happened."

Shadow felt slightly guilty when he saw Sonic's mother look at him worried. He didn't mean to worry her. Amy, more used to Shadow's bluster, asked calmly, "you don't need to pin him to ask him about the books do you?"

"I do if I want a straight answer from him," Shadow replied just as calmly. "You know he is master of less said. I need tactical information, not ifs and maybes."

"In that case you may get your chance now." Jules said, "One of the lads guarding our sanctuary here just saw a cloud of dust moving towards the village. It might be Sonic."

"It probably is," Shadow grumbled. "I thought I told that stupid echidna not to let Sonic get involved!" He turned to the elders. "Is there a place where we can see the village from here?"

The elders led him to a sheltered cliff just above the rows of huts below in the valley. From there Shadow could easily see the apparent dust storm approaching the village. With his enhanced vision, he could see flashes of blue within the dust storm, and knew that Sonic had once again rushed headlong into danger without thinking.

He watched Sonic pause at the edge of the village, and begin to follow enemy territory rules. _Good_, Shadow thought approvingly _at least he is taking the threat seriously_.

"Shadow, can you use that think talk to call Sonic?" Amy asked.

Shadow shook his head no. "I don't want to distract him. Its better I go down there myself and-"

Shadow broke off when he saw the rust colored werehog and his two fellows rush to ambush Sonic.

At first Sonic fought with his characteristic ease and style, but when he suddenly faced Jayce Shadow saw a strange blank look come over Sonic's face and then after that fear.

_Oh no,_ Shadow thought _not now! _

….

Sonic looked around the village. The fact that he did not see a single soul worried him. _ When I was little there were how many hedgehogs living here? Fifty? Sixty? Where is everybody? Are they all in hiding because of the others? How did Jayce and his crew get turned into werehogs anyway? I would know if there was any Dark Gaia Energy around. _

Sonic moved slowly remembering things Shadow told him about those who fight with stealth. _Speed isn't going to help you if you can't see your opponents. Move slowly, and look at shadows for movement. Listen for the hasty footstep at the beginning of the ambush. You can't process these things running at 500 miles per hour. _

So Sonic moved slowly. He could sense something watching him, but he didn't see anything. The nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach kept growing until he finally heard the snapping of a twig that alerted him to the attack.

Sonic jumped out of the way just in time to see a pair of huge hairy rust colored arms shoot out of nowhere to attack him.

Sonic dodged the first attack then the second. The arms shot out like bungi chords in an eerily familiar way. Then he looked up into face of his attacker.

The beast possessed a coat the color of dried blood; the eyes were glittering black beads sunken in above an enormous muzzle of dagger like teeth. Still the creature's appearance did not affect Sonic nearly as much as the memory that sparked within.

_You can't stop me Sonic. You are me! Do you really think you can keep yourself contained forever? You lost control before and you will again. Free me Sonic and we will become unstoppable!_

Sonic froze trapped within his nightmare.

….

Amy and Shadow watched Sonic suddenly freeze before Jayce. Shadow with his superior vision saw Sonic's eyes glaze over in a hauntingly familiar way.

"What's wrong with him? Why is Sonic just standing there?" Amy asked worried.

Now Shadow tried to reach out to Sonic with thought energy, but for some reason he could not reach his blue reflection. Jayce puzzled at first suddenly realized that Sonic wasn't paying him any attention. He began to chuckle evilly curling his massive hand into a fist.

"Doesn't he even see Jayce?" Amy asked. "It's like Sonic isn't even awake!"

In that moment, Shadow understood the problem. _Damn, Sonic this is a hell of a time to have a flashback!_ Unfortunately, Shadow knew that when a repressed memory wanted to surface there was little one could do about it. Thinking fast Shadow shouted out, "Chaos Control!" He teleported between the two, and threw up a hasty chaos shield between the pair. Jayce's hand connected with the shield causing the werehog to pull away, and howl with pain and anger. Shadow grabbed Sonic by his arm, and again shouted "Chaos Control!" Teleporting them back to the safety of the caves.

Amy far more used to Shadow teleporting than anyone else only jumped and squeaked a little in surprise. Even though the danger had passed, Sonic still seemed locked within his own mind. His eyes were wild and frightened reminding Shadow of when they woke Sonic from one of his nightmares."

Sonic's parents were frightened, and startled to say the least. Sonic's father frowned, angry. His mother at least looked concerned. "Amy, what's wrong with him? Did that creature -" Sonic's mother began. Shadow cut off the questions.

"Explain it to them," Shadow ordered Amy. "I'll take Sonic off and wake him." Without waiting for Amy's answer, Shadow called out again, "Chaos Control!" and teleported himself and Sonic upwards to the top of the mountains. Still Sonic did not respond. Shadow couldn't help but notice that the wind whipped about angrily, and wondered if Sonic's current state of mind had anything to do with it.

Just in case, Shadow spoke into the air. "I am sorry, but I must wake him." With that, Shadow created a small Chaos charge in his hand, curled that hand into a fist, and pounded that fist onto the top of Sonic's head.

"Ow!" Sonic winced and rubbed where Shadow struck him. Then he looked at his surroundings confused. "What the-"

Shadow, pleased that his attempt to wake Sonic worked asked, "Are you back with us now?"

Sonic instantly spun around to face his dark reflection. "Shadow? What's going on? What happened to the village?"

Shadow frowned. "Do you not remember entering the village?" He asked concerned.

"That's the last thing I remember," Sonic said annoyed. "I just got to the village, and was doing all that stealth stuff you're always telling me about. I just heard something come up behind me, and..." Sonic trailed off a deep frown on his face. He sighed and shook his head. "That's it. I can't remember anything else."

Shadow suspected he knew why. "Seeing your old rival as a wearhog must have triggered some sort of flashback about those nightmares you've had recently. You were in a shock trance so I decided to wake you without an audience."

"An audience?" Sonic asked at first, puzzled then after a moment of thought, winced. "Aww no," he muttered, "My parents saw me space out?" When Shadow nodded Sonic said unhappily, "Aw man, my mom is gonna freak."

"Then we had best return below so you can reassure her," Shadow advised.

Sonic sighed, but he did not argue. Instead he asked, "The slow way or the fast way?"

"The fast way," Shadow said smirking. "I believe I wish your father to think twice before annoying me, so I have been demonstrating a full array of my Chaos abilities."

"Ohhhhh man," Sonic moaned. "Do I even want to know?"

"Most likely not," Shadow said. He placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Ready?" Shadow asked. When Sonic nodded, Shadow closed his eyes and visualized the caves below. "Chaos Control!" He called out, and teleported both of them away.

They materialized right in front of Amy, and Sonic's parents. Amy looked up and sighed relieved. Sonic's father frowned cross. Sonic's mother instantly moved forward, and enveloped Sonic with a hug. "Sonic dear, are you all right?" She asked. "When your friend first brought you here you didn't seem to hear us at all."

"Geeze! I'm okay now mom," Sonic complained. "I've just been having a few weird nightmares, and seeing Jayce kind of made me remember some of it."

"You remember?" Amy asked suddenly excited. Sonic sighed and shook his head no.

"It's gone again, but seeing Jayce must have triggered something. Is he really a werehog?"

Amy nodded, "So is Benny. He said some magic guy transformed them all, and Knuckles said that the energy was similar to one of the two books you gave to Knuckles."

"The books?" Sonic echoed. "Man I knew I should have given Cobbler those books!"

"So this is your fault," Sonic's father said sternly.

"No it's not!" Amy insisted. "Jayce went hunting in the old temple. He and his new friend are responsible, not Sonic."

"If S...Sonic didn't always go looking for trouble we wouldn't have someone with a vendetta hunting for him." His father said still glaring.

Sonic frowned and tensed up. "They asked me for help Dad! I've told you before. I can't ignore a call for help!"

"You should have stayed home and not gotten involved!" Sonic's father shot back raising his voice.

Sonic's hands clenched into fists. "I can't do that Dad. You know I can't do that! I have to fight the evil in this world no matter what. That is what I was born for, and you know it!"

Sonic's father looked first shocked then furious. "Who told you that?" He demanded. Without waiting for Sonic to answer, he said, "whoever it was they were lying. Just because you have some freak ability doesn't make you -"

"It's not a freak ability." Sonic countered. "The Spirit of Light told me, and I wouldn't accuse a Spirit of lying. They have ways of hearing you, especially one of The Seven."

Sonic's father sputtered a bit, and then trying to sound stern and sensible, said, "You're delusional. The Seven are nothing more than a fairy tale."

Now Sonic smirked. "Well then Dad, a fairy tale, who is actually an old friend of mine, told me that you stole a healing chalice from a temple to The Seven, and opened the porthole that brought Eggman to our world."

"What?" Amy demanded.

Sonic nodded still smiling. "You remember Chip right Amy? He's The Spirit of Light, at least for Planet Gaia. He told me that Amu told my Dad back then that he would have to maintain the balance, but he ran away from her. So she gave the power to me, knowing that if my heart aligned to light energies I would be hard wired to help others." Sonic looked at his father directly. "I'm the way that I am because of you, and damn it dad you know it!"

Now Sonic's mother looked at her husband stricken. "Is this true?" She asked placing a hand on his arm.

"It doesn't matter." Sonic's father said pulling away. "He shouldn't have gotten involved anyway. He had no reason to go out looking for trouble."

Sonic stared at him aghast. "Looking for trouble? Eggman kidnapped half my friends and stuck them into robots! What was I supposed to do Dad? Let him?"

"It wasn't your-" Sonic's father began. Sonic cut him off.

"What Dad? Not my problem? They were my friends! Real friends too! They didn't care what I was! I was just Sonic to them!"

Shadow annoyed at how closed minded and stubborn Sonic's father sounded, finally spoke up. "If you would please enlighten me, do you disapprove of Sonic because he holds the power you should have had, but refused, he uses that power to help others, and not for your personal benefit, or do you feel guilty because Sonic took up the responsibility you ran from?"

That made Sonic's father mad. "Look I don't have to take that from you stranger!" He snapped. Turning towards Shadow and advancing.

Now Sonic lost his temper. He stepped between Shadow and his father, grabbed his father's arm and forced his father to look at him. "Leave Shadow alone Dad, he's not involved in this!"

For a brief moment startlement and fear shown on the elder hedgehog's face. Sonic looked startled too. He released his father's arm, and looked down at his own hand in horror. Shadow refused to let the situation deteriorate further. He clamped down on Sonic's arm, preventing him from running away. Once Sonic looked up at Shadow puzzled, Shadow pushed him gently towards Amy. "Take him outside and calm him down," Shadow ordered.

Amy, nobody's fool nodded agreeing at once. With a dark glare at Sonic's father, Amy pulled away a suddenly meek Sonic. Once sure that Amy and Sonic were out of earshot, Shadow turned savagely on Sonic's father. "Are you really that much of a fool, or are you deliberately trying to drive Sonic mad?"

"What are you talking about?" Sonic's father asked puzzled, and a little intimidated.

"Sonic absorbs energy, from light, sound, wind, food, even the thoughts and emotions of others. Your criticism of him is translating into a dark energy, which lately has been bothering Sonic. Now are you hurting him deliberately or did you have no idea you were having an adverse effect on your son?"

Jules looked at Shadow suspiciously, but with a bit of worry too. "I don't see how telling the lad he should stay home, and not run headlong into trouble could possibly hurt him." He said stubbornly.

Shadow shook his head trying to understand this hedgehog. "It is not your words that harm him, but your thoughts, your feelings. Actual care and concern energizes him with positive light energies. Lately he has been having some issues with dark energy, and I do not think further exposure to them would be good for him. So I would suggest sir that you curb that attitude of yours unless you want to see how far you can push your son into madness."

Shadow didn't wait for him to answer he spun around, and would have left, but Sonic's mother called out, "Wait, please! Is Sonic truly ill?"

Shadow, not sure what to tell a worried mother, settled for what little he knew. "We know that nightmares trouble him that he cannot remember when he wakes. We know that he has been instinctively avoiding dark energies, but Sonic is not consciously aware of why he is doing so. We have tried to help him, but Sonic must make himself aware of his dreams in order for him to deal with them."

"So these damn fool adventures of his are finally driving him over the edge?" Sonic's father muttered.

Shadow flattened his ears to his head. "I do not know," he said flatly. "Amy and I left Sonic behind to prevent him from being overly stressed, but perhaps he might find his healing here, if he is treated with respect and understanding." Shadow didn't wait for Sonic's mother to call him back a second time. He moved off quickly out of the cave to find Amy and his obstinate blue reflection.

Coming Soon:

"You're not the boss of me Shadow," Sonic announced. I can do what I want. This is my hometown, my family, and I'm going to help them."

"And how are you going to help them if you freeze, and have a flashback when you see this Jayce again?" Shadow countered sharply. "It may serve your friends and family better if you go home!"

"And leave you and Amy to fight the Djinn?" Sonic asked. "You don't know this guy Shadow he nearly killed me the last time we fought."

"All the more reason to go home, and leave both Jayce and the Djinn to me," Shadow insisted. "You know they can't kill me."

"You can't make me go," Sonic snapped back.

With a mischievous grin Shadow said, "Don't be so sure about that you stubborn blue pincushion."

Sonic planted his feet in the shallow soil, and glared at Shadow, daring his dark reflection to move him. Shadow moved forward intent on at least pinning Sonic to the ground to teach him a lesson when suddenly they heard a pain filled roar and a high-pitched scream that both hedgehogs recognized instantly.

"Amy!" They both shouted. The argument forgotten, they raced to the sound of the cry to see Benny on the ground bleeding from three deep gashes across his stomach.


	18. Sonic & Shadow: Black vs Blue

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

CHAPTER 17 Sonic & Shadow: Black vs Blue

Shadow found his way out of the caves and up to where Sonic and Amy sat on some old tree stumps talking. Benny sat at their feet. Shadow watched for a few minutes wondering how Sonic reacted to Amy's transformed brother. Sonic appeared to be all right with Benny, and included him in the conversation, but Shadow noticed that Sonic's spines were tense, and a strange worried dimple Shadow never saw before rested between Sonic's eyes at the bridge of his nose.

"So that old ruin I always hid out in to get away from my dad is actually some kind of temple to The Seven. I mean each Spirit Jet talked about had an entrance into that mountain. I saw the different carvings, and I could feel the different energies by each entrance."

"Do you think that if we took Benny There the Spirit of Air would heal Benny?" Amy asked.

Sonic sighed. "More likely it would be Chip. He's the Spirit of Light, or maybe the Spirit of Life would. I don't really know. I didn't know anything about The Seven until Jet told us about them, and I didn't see anything except for this really weird dream about Chip, but he kept telling me that it was real."

"Do you think it was real Sonic?" Amy asked.

Sonic sighed. "It makes sense to me. It sure explained a lot about Chip."

"So can he help me?" Benny asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Sonic said, but we have to stop Jayce first. So tell me how did you all get like that?"

Benny told his story again, and to Shadow's surprise Sonic focused on the lamp, not on their transformations. "Oh no," Sonic muttered when Benny finished. "I thought I got rid of him for good!"

Amy looked at Sonic puzzled. "Knuckles told us that the energy that changed Benny was something like the energy from those books you gave him. He said they were portholes to other dimensions."

Sonic's eyes widened. "That makes a whole lot more sense than being sucked into a book," he said. "This guy is from the Arabian Nights one. He's actually the Genie from Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. And I beat him in that other dimension and threw his lamp down an ifrit's hole. So how did he get here?"

"We found the lamp in that old temple where you used to hang out," Benny said, "it was resting in a little nook where a couple of other weird gold things were."

"Maybe that nook was a porthole of some kind;" Amy said thoughtfully, "Knuckles said that the old temples and ruins had lots of portholes to other places."

"Great," Sonic said with an exasperated sigh. "I saved one world to jeopardize my own."

"You thought you were pulled into a book. You had no idea how the world you were in worked." Shadow observed gently. Then with more of an edge to his voice added, "You still should not have come."

Sonic glared a challenge at Shadow. Amy suddenly grabbed her brother, and hastily said, "ummmm let's see if we can find you a dry cave to stay in Benny." Her brother gave both Sonic and Shadow a wary look, and quickly agreed with Amy going off with her leaving the two rivals alone.

"You're not the boss of me Shadow," Sonic announced. "I can do what I want. This is my hometown, my family, and I'm going to help them."

"And how are you going to help them if you freeze and have a flashback when you see this Jayce again?" Shadow countered sharply. "It may serve your friends and family better if you go home!"

"And leave you and Amy to fight the Djinn?" Sonic asked. "You don't know this guy Shadow he nearly killed me the last time we fought."

"All the more reason to go home and leave both Jayce and the Djinn to me," Shadow insisted. "You know they can't kill me."

"You can't make me go," Sonic snapped back.

With a mischievous grin Shadow said, "Don't be sure about that you stubborn blue pincushion."

Sonic planted his feet in the shallow soil and glared at Shadow daring his dark reflection to move him. Shadow moved forward intent on at least pinning Sonic to the ground to teach him a lesson when suddenly they heard a pain filled roar and a high pitched scream that both hedgehogs recognized instantly.

"Amy!" They both shouted. The argument forgotten they raced to the sound of the cry to see Benny on the ground bleeding from three deep gashes across his stomach.

Shadow immediately began to put pressure on the wounds. "Is there a healer in this village?"

"Amy's mom," Sonic answered instantly zipping away and returning seconds later carrying Amy's mother, and a bag of supplies

"Oh Benny!" She cried out distressed. Quickly she had Sonic and Shadow set Benny up in the cave they found for him. Sonic and Shadow hovered anxiously hoping they could help.

"That does it!" Sonic said pacing back and forth furiously. "I'm gonna take that Djinn's lamp, and shove it down Jayce's throat! It's bad enough he took Amy but he hurt Benny!" Sonic spun around, and faced the abandoned village.

Shadow thought he knew Sonic's intentions. "Where do you think you are going?" He asked.

"I'm going to take care of Jayce once and for all," Sonic snapped at Shadow.

Shadow shook his head no. "Not like that you're not," he told Sonic calmly grabbing onto Sonic's arm."

Sonic looked down at Shadow's hand on his arm. "What? Shadow!"

Shadow glared at his blue reflection. "This is why I left you behind! You never think you only react. You've been inconsistent with both The Chaos Emeralds and your moods lately. Right now you are a flawed weapon that I will not have at my side if it comes to fighting!"

Sonic sputtered a moment then managed to force out. "I am not a we-"

"Yes _we_ are Sonic," Shadow reminded him. "When you and I go out with the intention of fighting we are living weapons." When Sonic tried to protest again, Shadow cut him off. "That may not be how you see it, but that is how they trained me. Weather it was for the military or my creators intentions I always knew that part of my purpose was to fight. I know how to use over fifty different types of firearms; I know at least five different forms of hand to hand combat, along with tactics, logistics, enemy psychology, on top of basic first aid and weapon mechanics." He let Sonic digest that then added, "And I haven't even mentioned my chaos powers."

Sonic now stared at Shadow a cross between awe and confusion on his face. "You were supposed to be a weapon? What about ..." Sonic trailed off and actually looked a bit embarrassed. Shadow thought he knew why.

"The Professor designed me for several purposes. The military, wanted the Ultimate weapon, the government wanted research conducted on eternal life, the professor was looking for a cure for Maria, and after the he discovered the Black Arms, and Black Doom, he wanted a weapon capable of dealing with them too." Shadow did not mention the aborted attempt to destroy the Earth, knowing that Sonic would not bring that up. At the moment Sonic looked a little stunned, so Shadow took advantage of the fact, and drove his lesson home.

"And being what I am I _know_ the last thing you do is run off halfcocked without so much as a plan; especially when you are angry." Now Shadow grinned, satisfied seeing Sonic looking chagrined.

"Okay, but Shadow, Amy-" Sonic began again Shadow cut him off.

"We _will_ rescue Amy, and we _will_ make Jayce and his Genie pay, but _we_ will do so calmly with a well thought out plan."

Sonic let out a huge sigh and looked down at the ground sadly. "All right Shadow, your better at this stuff than-" Sonic broke off hearing a sob. Both hedgehogs turned to see Benny's mother struggling with treating her transformed son's wounds. "Harriet?" Sonic asked.

Still fighting the wounds Harriet said, "He's losing too much blood! I...I don't think I can save him"

"No," Sonic whispered into the breeze. "Please I don't want anyone to die because of me."

To Shadow's shock the breeze picked up instantly whirling leaves and dust about all four of them. Even stranger Sonic reacted to this wind. His eyes widened for a second then they closed. Sonic stood perfectly still listening to something in the wind that Shadow could not hear with his advanced senses.

"Yes," Sonic said in response to the wind. He sounded excited, eager. "Yes I understand." The breeze died down, and Sonics eyes opened. With the oddest expression on his face Sonic said, "Hold Benny together for as long as you can Harriet. I'm gonna find my dad, and make him get involved."

Without looking up from her work, Harriet said. "Please Shadow go after him. I don't know what he meant by that, but I don't want him fighting with Jules."

"How much time does Benny have?" Shadow asked.

"An hour, maybe two. Please Shadow, hurry." Harriet said. Shadow nodded, and went below into the caves.

Coming Soon:

Shadow pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald out and held it out for Sonic. "Take it."

Sonic looked at Shadow confused. "Huh?"

"Take the Chaos Emerald from my hand," Shadow insisted gently.

"Why don't you just give me mine back?" Sonic asked sounding annoyed.

Mentally cursing Sonic's stubbornness, Shadow said, "Because I want to know if you can hold this one."


	19. Sonic & Shadow: Healing & Hope

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Thanks to everyone who had given me reviews! You guys are giving me a lot to think about.

To PoeticLover1996: I looked at three specific incidents within games, and in Sonic X and I can't imagine Sonic not having issues after it. They will come out more later, but they have already been mentioned. The only difference right now between Sonic and Shadow is Shadow knows why he has issues. Sonic doesn't like to dwell on the past and doesn't want to deal.

But he will….oh yes he will…

CHAPTER 18 Sonic & Shadow: Healing & Hope

Shadow didn't even need to use his Chaos Sense to find Sonic. He just had to listen for the alarmed and angry voices. Shadow entered the cavern to see Sonic pinning his father to a wall. "Where is the cup?" Sonic demanded.

"I'm telling you I don't know what you are talking about!" Sonic's father shouted.

Sonic sounded perfectly calm, a little too calm for Shadow's liking. Sonic was so intent on his purpose he didn't register anyone else in the room.

"Let me refresh your memory," Sonic said his voice dripping with ice. "A silver cup about twelve inches high looking like leaves and vines intertwined around a bud forming the cup. Around the base are six different colored pea sized gems with the seventh gem a green one the size of an acorn. Said cup has the ability to heal any injury or illness, like the fever mom had when she was pregnant with me. Do you remember it _now_?"

"And why would I give that cup to you?" Sonic's father sneered. "That thing has caused me nothing but trouble since I found it."

"Stole it you mean," Sonic corrected. "I know where you got the cup from dad, and right now the only thing I care about is the fact that, that cup can save Benny's life."

"You don't know what will happen if you use that thing," Sonic's father warned.

"I know that Benny will die if we _don't_ use it!" Sonic insisted.

Shadow had a better idea. "Sonic, you don't need your father to tell you where the cup is." When Sonic looked at Shadow puzzled he said, "It is associated with the Spirits of Chaos, correct? Then our Chaos sense should be sufficient to find it."

A big grin shown on Sonic's face. He gave his father a shove in Shadow's direction. "Don't let him stop me," Sonic said. He closed his eyes turned slowly around in a circle. Suddenly he stopped, and went over to a stack of crates containing emergency supplies. Sonic moved aside most of them, and uncovered a footlocker with three huge padlocks sealing it shut. "This one," Sonic said absently. He pulled the chest away from the others, and turned to Shadow. "All right Ultimate Life Form, blast it open."

With a grin, Shadow moved Sonic's father out of his way. He gathered up his Chaos energy, and with the command, "Chaos Spear," shot three small blasts of energy breaking each lock off.

The hedgehogs around them gasped in surprise and shock.

With a genuine smile, and a, "thanks pal," Sonic opened the crate and dug through the sawdust scattering it about, until he pulled out the exact chalice he described before.

He dusted a few more stray wisps of sawdust from the cup. "Bingo," he said sounding pleased. Then Sonic said to no one in particular, "gotta get some water." Sonic raced away from the others.

Shadow with a disgusted look at Jules raced after Sonic. He found his blue counterpart at a natural spring dripping fresh clean water from a channel apparently carved into the rock. Sonic waited for the cup to fill with water quivering with impatience. Once he filled the cup Sonic ran off again, but this time Shadow knew to where. He closed his eyes, and concentrated teleporting himself back outside to where Benny lay fighting for his life.

"Oh!" Benny's mother exclaimed surprised. Then she startled again, when Sonic raced up. Sonic looked at Shadow with a smirk and muttered "cheater," under his breath. Then to Benny's mother he said, "This should help," he lowered the cup to Benny's mouth. "Come on man, you gotta drink this," Sonic said gently.

Benny instinctively managed to take a few gulps of water before his strength wore out. Suddenly Shadow felt the five Chaos Emeralds in his quills flair to life. Shadow glanced over at Sonic and saw that within his quills Sonic's Chaos Emerald also flared with power, and so did the chalice still held in Sonic's hand. The light from the chalice shone over Benny's fur then his fur began to sparkle and reduce.

"What?" Shadow exclaimed. He, Sonic, and Benny's mother watched a bright green glow flow all over Benny causing the shaggy wolf like pelt to shrink to something more hedgehog like. His fur lightened in color, and his quills went back to something more normal. Benny still looked taller and more muscular than other hedgehogs, and his nails were a little longer, but a great deal of what made Benny look feral simply vanished.

While the three hedgehogs tried it digest what they saw, Benny groaned again and opened his eyes. "Mom?" He asked sounding a little groggy. Then Shadow saw an urgency flash into his eyes. "Amy!" He shouted. He tried to get up, but Sonic and Harriet woke from their shock, and tried to get him to lay still.

"Benny, chill man!" Sonic said. Shadow noticed the huge sigh of relief Sonic released.

Joy shining in her eyes Harriet said, "Benny calm down!"

Highly agitated Benny pushed them both away. "No you don't understand! Jayce took Amy!"

"He almost sent you to Hedgehog Heaven too Ben! You had a huge hole in your stomach!" Sonic snapped. He checked out Benny's middle. There were three pinkish scars where the gaping wounds once were.

"It looks like the healing chalice has done its work," Shadow said impressed.

"And then some," Sonic added. "Benny got himself a healing haircut too."

"Huh?" Benny ran his hand through his now shorter quills. "Wow! Cool, but Sonic, Jayce grabbed Amy! We gotta go after him!"

"We will," Shadow reassured him, "but like I told Sonic we need to plan this out carefully." Shadow looked at Benny carefully. He looked healed, but Shadow couldn't help but notice that Benny still had some features that told him Amy's brother was not yet completely cured.

Sonic thwapped Shadow gently on the back. "You're projecting again," Sonic said with a grin, "but I noticed too. Hey you got Chaos Emeralds on you right?"

With a mental twist, Shadow pulled The Chaos Emeralds out from his quills, and sent them orbiting around him. Sonic smiled, and added his cyan emerald to the other five. "So we're just missing one?" Sonic asked

"No you're not!" Benny said smiling. "When we found that old lamp we also found a white gem just like those. I was holding it when we found that Genie."

"That explains why you were not affected like the others," Shadow said. "According to what Knuckles told me the white emerald is the one associated with light, positive, energy. I bet if we had that emerald you would have been completely cured."

"So we should try to get that Emerald?" Benny asked confused. "I can wait, we need to save Amy."

"If we have all seven emeralds we have a better chance of not only save Amy, but send Jayce and that Genie packing," Sonic explained. Only then, Shadow remembered his earlier disagreement with Sonic.

"Yes, but first you and I have some unfinished business to conclude." Shadow said calling all the Chaos emeralds to himself.

"Hey!" Sonic protested, but one look from Shadow silenced him.

To Shadow's surprise Sonic stayed quiet while he gave Benny instructions. "Benny can you scout?" At his nod Shadow continued. "Go and locate both Amy and The Chaos Emerald. Do not engage Jayce or his Genie. I just want the information." He tossed the green Chaos Emerald to him. "If you hold that Sonic and I will be able to find you, just stay out of sight."

Benny did not look happy about his instructions. Shadow noted Benny looking at Sonic questioning the order with only his eyes. When Sonic nodded, Benny sighed and said, "all right I can do that." With that Benny moved away heading down into the valley. Harriet didn't even wait to be asked. She excused herself, and went back into the caves with the others. Now Shadow faced Sonic alone. He knew that he was about to be very cruel to his blue counterpart, but he could not go into battle with Sonic without making sure he would not need rescuing halfway through.

Shadow pulled out the Purple Chaos Emerald out, and held it out for Sonic. "Take it."

Sonic looked at Shadow confused. "Huh?"

"Take the Chaos Emerald from my hand," Shadow insisted gently.

"Why don't you just give me mine back?" Sonic asked sounding annoyed.

Mentally cursing Sonic's stubbornness, Shadow said, "Because I want to know if you can hold this one."

Sonic looked at the dark violet gem gingerly. "This is about what Amy told me before isn't it?"

Shadow didn't relent. "This is about me watching you try to lose this emerald the night of the hurricane to the point where you commanded it to leave in your sleep. I told you before I am not going into a fight with a flawed weapon by my side."

Now Sonic frowned, and Shadow watched a dozen different expressions cross his blue counterpart's face. Finally, with a sigh of resignation, Sonic took the Purple Chaos Emerald from Shadow.

Shadow looked carefully for any change in Sonic, but all he saw was a slight shudder, and a deepening of the frown on Sonic's face. "It feels like dozens of worms are crawling around my insides." Sonic said.

Shadow didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. "You never felt that before?" He asked.

"It more like I never noticed it before," Sonic corrected. "I didn't start noticing it until I went back to that old Temple of The Seven by the doorway to the spirit of darkness. I felt this around there, and I think I did feel this the night of the hurricane, but I didn't understand why."

"I see," Shadow said neutrally. Privately he believed that subconsciously Sonic had known, which was why he tried to lose the emerald, but he kept that speculation to himself. Instead, he asked. "Can you handle this?"

The fact that Sonic stopped and thought about it at all satisfied Shadow. With a thoughtful look, Sonic said, "I think so. I'll probably feel better if I have a second Emerald to drown out this one."

Shadow considered, then tossed Sonic's cyan emerald to him too. Sonic closed his eyes, and relaxed, visibly relieved. "Better?"

"You have no idea," Sonic admitted.

Shadow didn't like the sound of that. "Sonic do you think you can handle this?" He asked.

"I'm cool," Sonic reassured him. "Let's get Amy."

Shadow wasn't going to let Sonic put the issue off though. "When we get home, you and I are going to have a long talk with the Guardian." He said flatly. He didn't wait for Sonic to answer. He went down the mountain path returning to the village with Sonic following behind.

Coming Soon:

He didn't see the white stone or Jayce anywhere. He crept along the edge of the house until he heard Jayce's voice arguing with the Genie.

"He isn't coming! How can I kill him if the little coward doesn't show up?"

"He will come." The Genie said calmly. "He will not leave the girl behind."

"Amy is mine!" Jayce exclaimed angrily. Jayce's friend Winslow laughed at that.

"Dude, are you kidding? You just killed her brother and you want to kill her crush. She's gonna hate your guts forever!" Winslow said.

Benny heard a crash and a furious Jayce exclaimed, "Well then I'll kill her too. I'll kill all of them!"


	20. Hedgehog vs Werehog

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Ugh! Too much school. But Weekend is here so here is another chapter!

CHAPTER 19 Hedgehog vs Werehog

Benny managed to sneak back into the village. It was no trouble to avoid Martin and Winslow they weren't the sharpest quills in the bunch. He found Jayce back in Sonic's house. _I'll just bet Jayce is using Sonic's house just to raise Sonic's quills. Isn't he even thinking about Sonic's dad?_ Benny didn't know if it was that dark energy Amy's friend kept talking about or just that Genie messing with Jayce's head, but his old friend didn't appear to care about anyone or anything anymore. All he wanted to do was destroy Sonic.

_And even that's different from when we were little. Back then bullying Sonic was enough. Now it's like he wants to see him dead. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way. He was a jerk before, but he wasn't bloodthirsty. It's gotta be that dark energy stuff."_

Benny moved to the back of the house and peered in the window. He saw his sister chained to the wreck of a bed. A huge bruise could be seen on her left cheek. Jayce had hurt her, but Benny could see the defiant gleam in her eyes. Benny certainly didn't want to be in Jayce's shoes if Amy got free.

He didn't see the white stone or Jayce anywhere. He crept along the edge of the house until he heard Jayce's voice arguing with the Genie.

"He isn't coming! How can I kill him if the little coward doesn't show up?"

"He will come." The Genie said calmly. "He will not leave the girl behind."

"Amy is mine!" Jayce exclaimed angrily. Jayce's friend Winslow laughed at that.

"Dude, are you kidding? You just killed her brother, and you want to kill her crush. She's gonna hate your guts forever!" Winslow said.

Benny heard a crash, and a furious Jayce exclaimed, "Well then I'll kill her too. I'll kill all of them!"

_Okay, it's official, Jayce has finally gone off the deep end, _Benny thought to himself_. I got to find Sonic and Shadow, and tell them where Amy is before Jayce goes through with it._ Benny tried to creep away, but when he turned around Martin stood there grinning wickedly. "Hey there weakling! Wanna see the boss?"

Without looking Benny grabbed the biggest rock he could find by the house. "Not really," he said slowly. "You just heard him in there, he wants to kill Sonic, he almost killed me! Do you really think this is right? Have you all lost your minds?"

Martin just laughed. "You still don't get it do ya Ben Ben. We're strong like this, we can do anything we want!"

"That doesn't make it right Martin! Don't you care what happens the rest of the village? Our families our friends?"

Martin advanced on Benny chuckling menacingly "Who cares about them! All they talk about is Sonic the Hero. Well we'll show them whose stronger!"

At that moment Benny saw things clearly. "Sonic and Shadow were right, the dark energy from that Djinn is screwing with your heads. You are crazy."

Martin didn't seem to care. "Maybe," he said still laughing "but that's not gonna help you now." Martin made a grab for Benny who retaliated by smashing down on Martin's arm with the stone he picked up, only to see that it was the white gem they found the same day they found the lamp.

The white emerald flared with energy and Martin howled in pain. Benny for a moment thought Martin faked being more hurt but then he saw the burn mark from where the Emerald touched him.

"_What?"_ Benny wondered, but he didn't have time to think. Angry, and now in pain Martin came after him again.

"Damn you you little weasel, that hurt!" Martin exclaimed moving forward. Benny ducked away from Martin and began to run.

At the edge of the last row of houses Benny saw Shadow and Sonic coming towards the center of the village. When both hedgehogs saw Martin behind Benny Shadow teleported forward, and shot a few weak chaos blasts at Martin making the irate warehog run off."

"I told you not to engage them," Shadow snapped irritated.

"He engaged me," Benny answered quickly. Finding that Chaos Emerald of yours was just a happy accident. Oh and news flash that Emerald burned him!"

"I saw," Shadow said turning to Sonic racing up. "I wonder what will happen if Sonic and I access all the Emeralds and engage them."

"Not in my plan," Sonic told Shadow. "Jayce wants to fight, so I won't give him one. I'm fast enough he won't catch me, and he'll get tired before I do to. Then..." Sonic trailed off deep in thought. He held his hand out to Benny who immediately handed over the chaos emerald. "You say it hurt Martin?" Sonic asked staring at the glowing white gem. At Benny's nod Sonic said, "maybe if I channel it the way we channel all the Emeralds at once I can reach him. I don't know why he's always hated me, but maybe by using this I can get him past that, and I think I'll have help."

"Help?" Shadow asked puzzled.

Sonic closed his eyes and held the white Emerald close to his chest. "Something I think I'm feeling. Kinda like those feelings I had at the temple. I think someone or several someone's are willing to help us, but they need to access this world through us."

Shadow considered, hearing Jacye and his crew prepared to attack. "I'll keep that in mind," he said hoping Sonic knew what he was talking about. "Right now we have to get ready. Jayce is about to attack."

"Right," Sonic said his voice suddenly serious. He fished out two more of the magical emeralds. "Here, you won't be able to go super without this one, but you'll have a lot of power."

Shadow only took the purple gem. "Keep the Air Emerald. Since you do have an affinity for the Spirit of Air she may help you too."

Sonic nodded, "She already has, Shads, she already has."

Suddenly the three hedgehogs heard an angry roar. "You!" Jayce shouted. The other two smaller werehogs flanked him. Behind the three hovered a strange looking being with violet skin, and flaming red hair, wearing baggy pants and gold jewelry. At his side he had a bronze sword that looked twice the size of Sonic.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Oh boy," he muttered.

Shadow frowned at the creature. With a quick glance at Sonic he said, "stick to the plan. I can take on the Djinn and the lackey's you deal with Jayce."

"Gotcha Shads," Sonic answered then with a smile said," be careful out there,"

"You too faker," Shadow said with a slight grin. Quickly he said to Benny, "Benny, get your sister, and get back up the mountains. We'll keep them too busy to bother you." With that he and Sonic both ran forward.

Shadow made the first move according to the plan. With a single homing attack he knocked Martin and Winslow unconscious. Sonic smiled relieved that he did not have to fight his childhood playmates. They weren't exactly his friends, but before Jayce convinced them that Sonic was a great target for bullying they got along fine. Once they were out of the way Shadow let loose a barage of Chaos spears at the Djinn and then ran off.

Erazor Djinn of course predictably chased after Shadow leaving Sonic alone with the ware hog that wanted to kill him. "So," Sonic said taking a deep breath. "This is what you wanted, right Jayce? Just you and me."

Jayce laughed and growled "you bet twerp! Now I'll finally show you whose the better hedgehog!"

"Your not much of a hedgehog anymore, Jayce," Sonic reminded him, but all right if that is what you want, you win." And with that Sonic lay down on the ground on his side looking completely relaxed."

Just like he predicted Jayce got confused. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Surrendering," Sonic said with a shrug. "I don't want to fight you Jayce, I don't even know why you went through all the trouble just to lure me here. I never understood why you hated me. You always had everything I ever wanted."

Jason sneered at Sonic bearing his strong sharp teeth. "What did I have that you could've possibly wanted?" he asked.

"My dad," Sonic answered calmly, "he always hated me. I think I get that now, but it sure wasn't easy to see day after day him favor you over me." Sonic eyed Jayce up-and-down speculatively. "Now what do I possibly have that you could've wanted?"

Now Jayce growled. "You're kidding right? You're Sonic The Hedgehog, you're famous. Everybody always talks about you. Any time anyone comes through the village all we hear about is you."

Sonic looked at Jayce puzzled. "That's it? I never asked for any of that. It just happened."

Jayce still wasn't satisfied. "What about Amy?" he said, "She follows you around all the time, and you know I like her! She left me to follow you!"

Sonic tensed up. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Amy, and Jayce was bringing that up? Still trying to sound cool and calm, Sonic answered. "Hey take that up with her pal. I never asked her to follow me, she just does. Do you know how many times I've had to rescue her because she was following me? The only reason I've never completely blown her off is because being around me makes her happy. Heck, I'm out here trying to save her from you now! If she and Shadow didn't come out here, I wouldn't have had too.

If you don't like her why did you come out -

Suddenly the voice of the Erazor Djinn cut in between the conversation. "Fool, what are you doing! Kill him!"

Coming Soon:

Erazor Djinn laughed. "And now I shall get my revenge upon you for our last meeting rat!"

"That's what you think Erazor Djinn!" Sonic shouted. "Shadow! The Chaos Emeralds!"

Both Shadow and Sonic released the emeralds to float above them, but Erazor Djinn let loose a blast of energy that flung the seven emeralds about and temporarily stunned Sonic Shadow, and Jayce.

"Now to end this," the dark Djinn said gleefully. He created a huge spear of energy and aimed it right for Sonic.

"Sonic! Look Out!" Amy shouted. She squeezed out of her brother' arms and faster than either Sonic or Shadow could react the pink hedgehog dove between Sonic and the Djinn taking the full force of the Blast.


	21. Amy Never Listens

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

CHAPTER 20 Amy Never Listens:

Amy knew the moment Sonic and Shadow entered the village. Nervously she watched Jayce and his crew go off, eager to battle Sonic and Shadow. Only then did Amy shed her tears for her brother. She watched Jayce egged on by that Genie slash across her brothers midsection, and then left him there to die. When she yelled at Jayce, he backhanded her hard enough to leave her stunned and senseless until he chained her up to the bed.

_That was stupid Amy. You should have waited for the right time, and then pulled out your piko piko hammer, and gave him a concussion._ She silently berated herself. After that, she heard the sounds of battle for a few minutes, but then suddenly everything got silent. After a few minutes of agonizing silence, Amy suddenly heard the broken door open, and her brother Benny came in.

"Benny! You're alive?" When Benny moved forward Amy couldn't help herself. Despite the chains, she tried to hug her brother.

"Amy hey, wait! Let me get you lose first!" He pushed her down gently and then examined her restraints. "If I had something to hit it with..." He said to himself, and then spotted a huge candleholder made of brass on top of a heap of other objects. He went over and picked up the candleholder testing its heft. "This will do. Amy, turn away and close your eyes." When she did so, he brought down his full strength upon the chains, which shattered them. Once Amy was free Benny saw her flick her hand out, and a huge hammer appeared in her hands.

"Amy!" Benny cried out ducking to avoid the hammer. "How did you do that?"

"Oh I got this from a friend I met following Sonic." Amy said proudly swinging her hammer. "Is Jayce around? I'd love to show it to him."

Benny shook his head. "Your friend Shadow wants both of us out of their way, and I agree with him."

"No way!" Amy argued. "If Jayce is still causing trouble I want a piece of him."

"Sonic is taking care of Jayce, Amy; let's just get out of here!" Benny begged her, but Amy ignored him. She marched out of house leaving Benny following behind her.

Outside she saw Sonic lying on the ground. In one hand, he held the white Chaos Emerald, which sparkled and glowed slightly, causing Sonic's quills to shimmer in iridescence. He didn't look hurt. A few feet away stood Jayce looking confused and unsettled. He had one hand at his massive head looking dizzy. Amy took one step forward, but Benny held her back.

"Hang on sis, look at Jayce. Sonic told me that he might be able to use that white emerald to talk the fight out of Jayce. I didn't understand what they were saying, but Shadow did. He's got all the other Emeralds."

"What could Sonic say to Jayce to make him stop fighting?" Amy wondered. She dissipated the hammer, and drew closer to listen.

Jayce growled at Sonic, "You're kidding right? You're Sonic The Hedgehog; you're famous. Everybody always talks about you. Any time anyone comes through the village all we hear about is you."

Sonic looked at Jayce puzzled. "That's it? I never asked for any of that. It just happened."

That was true. Sonic never asked for the notoriety. Sometimes he would play the hero for one reason or the other, but most of the time privately he complained that his fans were always in his way when he needed to fight.

Jayce looked thoughtful for a moment, then frowned again "What about Amy?" he said, "She follows you around all the time, and you know I like her! She left me to follow you!"

Amy saw Sonic tensed up, and his quills rise, a sign he felt unsettled, but his tone was calm when he answered. "Hey take that up with her pal. I never asked her to follow me, she just does. Do you know how many times I've had to rescue her because she was following me? The only reason I've never completely blown her off is that being around me makes her happy. Heck, I'm out here trying to save her from you now! If she and Shadow didn't come out here, I wouldn't have had too."

Also true, if not hurtful. It surprised Amy though that Sonic said the reason he never made her leave is that being with him made her happy. _He really can't stop taking care of others even if he doesn't care about them. _Amy wondered about Sonic's body language though. _He's acting like he doesn't care but he looks so unsettled talking about it. Is he still mad at me because I tried to get him to talk to me?_

Oddly enough, Jayce didn't buy it. "If you don't like her why did you come out –"

Suddenly the voice of the Genie cut in between the conversation. "Fool, what are you doing! Kill him!"

_No!_ Amy thought instantly she summoned her hammer again, but then she heard Shadow call out, "Chaos Spear!" She turned in the direction of the exploding Chaos energy to see Shadow still trying to engage the genie.

Now Jayce looked completely perplexed. "Kill? Kill Sonic? I just...I just wanted to be better than him!"

Amy saw the Djinn turn and fight with Shadow. Taking advantage of the distraction Amy called out. "Then why did you try to kill my brother, Jayce? What is making you act like that?"

Jayce shook his head firmly apparently trying to think clearly. "No, what did I..."

"Erazor Djinn is trying to control you Jayce," Sonic said calmly. "I know you didn't want to hurt Benny, or Amy, or my Dad. He's making you hurt them. You got to snap out of it!"

Erazor Djinn blasted Shadow back one hundred yards then turned back to Jayce. "Don't listen to them you fool! Show them your power! Kill them all!"

"Will that make me happy Jayce?" Amy asked. "You know it won't. I never cared about Sonic's speed. I just loved that he helped others with it. What have you done with all this power you have Jayce? All you've done is make everybody miserable! Make me happy now Jayce let it go."

"Do not listen to her fool! She will betray you!" Erazor Djinn warned him.

"Like you betrayed Shara!" Sonic countered. "She loved you and you used her the way you're using Jayce!"

Shadow very slowly so not to be noticed moved closer to Sonic and placed his hand on the white Chaos emerald. "Who is in charge here Jayce," he asked softly, "you or the Djinn?"

The light from the white chaos emerald continued to bath Jayce in its gentle light. "I...I'm in charge. He always said I'm in charge."

"Did you want to hurt Benny?" Sonic asked. "You almost killed him you know"

Looking like he just woke up from an unsettling dream, Jayce muttered, "Benny? I...I hurt him?" He shook his head and stared hard at Amy's brother. "You're...You're different, almost back to normal."

"Sonic, and Shadow...they helped me," Benny explained. "They found a way to heal me, and they fixed me with the Chaos Emeralds. We can help you to. Just let it go Jayce"

"No!" Erazor Djinn shouted furious. "Obey me now you fool slay them all!"

Suddenly Jayce snapped around hard. "What did you say?"

Still angry the Djinn repeated. "I said to obey me and slay them!"

Jayce shook his head one more time, suddenly looking awake and alert. "That's what I thought you said," he answered with a sneer. He drew back his massive clawed hand.

"Duck!" Sonic called out. Amy and Benny fell to the floor seeing Sonic and Shadow do the same. Jayce's arm swung out like a bungee cord and struck Erazor Djinn in the jaw.

"What happened to 'Your wish is my command? Or whatever you wish master? When did I go from being your Master to a fool?"

From the ground, the dark Djinn grinned. "You were always the fool. It was so easy to get you to do my bidding!"

"He still has to grant three wishes to anyone who has the lamp whether he wants to or not," Sonic said. "So let's wish him, to the center of Mobius."

Jayce winced, "yeah, about that," Jayce began.

Sonic looked at him worried. "Jayce, tell me you didn't use all three wishes," he muttered.

Now Erazor Djinn laughed. "Oh he did much more than that..." He rose to his feet, and snapped his fingers and his own magic lamp appeared in his hands.

"Um after Benny tried to steal the lamp Erazor told me he should keep it so no one else would steal it." Jayce admitted.

Sonic winced. "Oh man."

Erazor Djinn laughed. "And now I shall get my revenge upon you for our last meeting rat!"

"That's what you think Erazor Djinn!" Sonic shouted. "Shadow! The Chaos Emeralds!"

Both Shadow and Sonic released the emeralds to float above them, but Erazor Djinn let loose a blast of energy that flung the seven emeralds about and temporarily stunned Sonic Shadow, and Jayce.

"Now to end this," the dark Djinn said gleefully. He created a huge spear of energy, and aimed it right for Sonic.

"Sonic! Look Out!" Amy shouted. She squeezed out of her brother' arms and faster than either Sonic or Shadow could react the pink hedgehog dove between Sonic and the Djinn taking the full force of the Blast.

"Amy!" Sonic caught Amy in his arms, and gently lowered her to the ground.

"Amy no," Sonic repeated. Shadow drew closer and knelt at Sonic's side.

Jayce came closer and reached one of his extending arms. "Sonic, I...I didn't mean for-"

Sonic didn't even look up. "Back off Jayce," Sonic said, his voice icy cold "Just go."

The stricken warehog backed away to where his fellows sat in a miserable bunch.

Shadow knew that tone, he knew that expression and he knew that the Seven Chaos Emeralds were laying scattered about the square.

A groan made both Shadow and Sonic look down at the injured hedgehog. "Amy?" Sonic asked, gently caressing her cheek.

"S...Sonic?" Amy managed to force out. Sonic gently whipped the blood from her mouth. "Safe?"

Sonic shocked, said, ""Yeah Amy I'm fine, don't talk we got to get you to your mom."

Amy smiled, "Doesn't ...doesn't matter. You're safe. "

"Don't talk like that Amy", Shadow told her. "We'll get you help"

"Don't bother," Amy said weakly still smiling. Shadow felt more and more alarm. Her heartbeat sounded slower and slower. "Better...better this way,"

Shadow winced. He thought he knew what Amy meant; he just thought she was wrong.

"Better this way? Amy what are you talking about?" Sonic demanded

"L...love you," Amy breathed out. She closed her eyes, and Shadow heard her fading heartbeat cease."

For a brief moment, Shadow let loose a string of curses in his mind, but then Sonic started calling out Amy's name and shaking her. Shadow's strategic side took over and he began to analyze the situation.

The Chaos Emeralds were in close proximity to Sonic.

Sonic was dealing with the death of Amy Rose.

The creature that just killed her was just twenty feet in front of him.

Shadow grabbed on to Sonic's shoulders stopping his trembling, squeezed and prayed that the grief stricken Hedgehog would listen. "Sonic, Sonic listen to me. I know exactly how you feel right now, but do not call on the Chaos Emeralds. Remember Chaos, Remember Black Narcissus, you know that if you act in anger you'll destroy everything. This would be the Djinn's ultimate victory, to corrupt you the way he nearly corrupted Jayce!"

Tears fell freely from Sonic's eyes, and for a moment Shadow wondered if Sonic heard him, or if he cared, but then he felt a shift in the energies around Sonic and realized that Sonic had cut himself off from all stray energies. "Get him Shadow," he muttered quietly.

"Sonic?" Shadow asked.

"Get him Shadow," Sonic repeated his voice dripping with venom. "Get him for both of us."

Shadow patted Sonic's shoulder and rose to his feet. The Djinn looked at the black and red hedgehog contemptuously a smirk on his face. "So, you also wish to perish to protect this useless creature?"

Shadow took a deep breath; he called the Seven Emeralds to his side.

Remembering his training long ago on the Ark, he took his own grief and anger, and put it aside. He focused on the part of himself that acknowledged the fact that Shadow the Hedgehog was a living weapon. A weapon could not afford to have emotions; all that mattered now were his orders, his enemy, and his objective.

"I am Shadow the Hedgehog, The Ultimate Life form, and you are going to wish you never met me."

Coming Soon:

"What do you intend to do with me?" Erazar asked mockingly. "You cannot kill me. I am immortal. You cannot stand between me and what is mine forever. One day the hedgehog will be mine!"

Still channeling the Seven Chaos Emeralds Shadow said, "You're immortal? What a coincidence so am I, and if I have to stand between you and Sonic forever so be it, but I am not babysitting you for the rest of eternity. I have a better idea."

The energy of the emeralds flared around Shadow. In a loud commanding voice, Shadow shouted. "I call upon the Seven who watch over this world. This vile creature has brought grievous suffering upon the children in your service. I do not belong to you, but in the name of the guardian of Angel Island, in the name of your high priestess and all her kin, and in the name of Sonic The Hedgehog who was bound to you before his birth, I beg of you pass judgment upon Erazor Djinn and grant unto him that which he deserves!" With that, Shadow flung the remaining energy into the air recklessly dissolving back into his ordinary form.

Silence hung in the air, not even insects made a sound. Erazor Djinn rose to his feet, and laughed at the exhausted hedgehog. "You think The Seven are going to aid you? You think they actually intervene for you? Let this be the last thing you learn rat. The Seven do not exist!"


	22. Amy: Descisions

**Chapter 21 Amy: Decisions **

Amy stood behind Sonic wondering why he knelt on the floor crying like his heart was broken. In some strange abstract way, she knew he held her body, but she had no idea why he felt so badly. It never occurred to her that he felt so strongly about her.

"You are surprised?" a strange voice asked her. Amy turned to see a beautiful tall powder blue hedgehog with long flowing quills that waved in some unfelt breeze. She wore a flowing gown the same color as Sonic's Chaos Emerald. In addition, her eyes were the blue of an endless sky.

"You're her aren't you," Amy said uncertainly, "You're the Spirit of the Wind, the one who Sonic belongs to."

The strange ethereal hedgehog shook her head and smiled down gently at Amy "It would be more accurate to say I belong to him, little one, for we encourage freedom, and balance in all those we favor. We do not ask for servitude for those who hold our power, only that they use our gifts wisely."

Puzzled, Amy asked, "Does that mean that Sonic could have fallen in love with me?"

The Spirit laughed sounding like wind chimes in a summer breeze. "Little one, Sonic does love you, very much. He is not so different from The Shadow Hedgehog, neither show great emotion, the only difference is that my Sonic prefers to hide his feelings out in the sunshine, while your friend hides his emotions within the shadows.

Amy watched Shadow, in his super form, fighting the Djinn. "Something horrible would have happened if Sonic accessed the Chaos Emeralds while upset like this."

The Spirit hedgehog nodded. "Yes it would have been very bad. Shadow showed great wisdom in keeping Sonic from calling upon our emeralds. If the Emeralds are called for in anger, than all the energy gears itself towards destruction, and the wielder loses himself in the emotion. One must always call upon the Seven when one's objective is clear and free of dark emotion."

Amy looked sadly at Sonic still crying over Amy's loss. "Will he ever be able to access the emeralds again?"

"It is hard to say," the Air spirit said, sounding sad.

Amy sighed. "This is my fault," She said. "I wish I could talk to Sonic and tell him it's all right.

The spirit turned to her. "If it were in your power girl, would you heal his heart?"

"Of course I want to make him feel better." Amy said a bit confused. "I guess it was stupid to jump in front of him like that, but I didn't want him to get hurt. I guess I hurt him anyway."

"You were brave enough to die for Sonic," The spirit reminded her, "would you be willing to live for him? To live only for him?"

"I don't understand," Amy, told the spirit. "Live for him? I just died. How can I live?"

The air spirit explained again. "Would you Amy Rose pledge yourself to our purpose, and in doing so pledge yourself to serving his needs? If you were sealed to our needs our power could restore you."

"You mean you could bring me back to life, and I could be with Sonic?"

The Air spirit laughed. "Little one, it would be your duty to be with Sonic, to serve his needs, before your own."

Amy thought about it. She remembered that Jet said most people pledged themselves to the Seven as young adults. Guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles was pledged when very young. It didn't appear to harm him.

"To serve Sonic's needs before mine? I guess it's only fair." Amy squared her shoulders and faced the spirit directly. "What do I have to do?"

Shadow and The Djinn seemed to be evenly matched, but Shadow, trained in not only combat, but strategy, and tactics, eventually forced The Djinn to the ground. Using a Chaos Shield he held the evil creature to the floor.

"What do you intend to do with me?" Erazar asked mockingly. "You cannot kill me. I am immortal. You cannot stand between me and what is mine forever. One day the hedgehog will be mine!"

Still channeling the Seven Chaos Emeralds Shadow said, "You're immortal? What a coincidence so am I, and if I have to stand between you and Sonic forever, so be it, but I am not babysitting you for the rest of eternity. I have a better idea."

The energy of the emeralds flared around Shadow. In a loud commanding voice, Shadow shouted. "I call upon The Seven who watch over this world. This vile creature has brought grievous suffering upon the children in your service. I do not belong to you, but in the name of the guardian of Angel Island, in the name of your high priestess and all her kin, and in the name of Sonic the Hedgehog who was bound to you before his birth, I beg of you pass judgment upon Erazor Djinn and grant unto him that which he deserves!" With that, Shadow flung the remaining energy into the air recklessly dissolving back into his ordinary form.

Silence hung in the air, not even insects made a sound. Erazor Djinn rose to his feet, and laughed at the exhausted hedgehog. "You think The Seven are going to aid you? You think they actually intervene for you? Let this be the last thing you learn rat. The Seven do not exist!"

No one noticed the light swirling breeze beginning around the pair.

Shadow knew he had no chance, but he refused to admit defeat. "You cannot kill me any more than I can kill you," he reminded him.

"Perhaps not," The Djinn said chuckling, "but I can make you beg for-"

The wind surrounding him grew stronger and stronger. They only noticed when the force of air pushed them both backwards. Now Shadow looked about at the colors within the whirlwind, red, green, blues, yellow, white, purple. For the first time in his life Shadow felt fear. _What have I done?_

The cyclone seemed to ignore Shadow and focused solely on the Djinn. Part of the whirlwind full of shades of purple formed some strange porthole. The red, yellow, dark blue and green lights grabbed the Djinn by his arms and legs.

"No wait what are you doing?" Erazor shouted, but there was nothing to argue with, only the strands of light. They dragged him bodily into the porthole, which suddenly winked out of existence.

Shadow let out a breath he didn't know he held. Now able to think again, he spun around looking for Sonic. The blue hedgehog still sat where Shadow left him, still crying, still holding the motionless form of Amy Rose in his arms. Suddenly a pale blue light and a bright white light began circling of both them, but Shadow felt no threat. Instead, he felt a compassion and a sympathy from the lights. Taking a good look at Sonic, Shadow saw that his blue reflection seemed to be in some sort of trance. His eyes closed, though tears still threatened in them, and his heartbeat and respiration were in a slow steady rhythm almost like he slept. Shadow took a few steps forward but something made him pause. Suddenly the lights surrounding Sonic and Amy flared up and bathed both of them in bright energy.

Suddenly against all possible odds, Shadow heard Amy's heart start beating again. Shadow watched incredulously Amy's chest started to rise and fall with every breath and her eyes opened and looked up at Sonic. "Hi," she said her voice weak but steady.

"AMY!" Sonic hugged her tightly to his chest. Shadow was there a millisecond later hugging both of them. He hadn't felt so happy since he lived aboard the Ark with Maria.

"Hey! Guys! Come on I can't breathe!" Amy said pushing them both away.

Shadow heard footsteps approaching he released the two hedgehogs to turn and defend them, but it was only Benny, Jayce and the two that Jayce corrupted, all normal hedgehogs again with the exception of purple markings similar to his own red ones.

Benny, the only hedgehog from the group without the purple stripes, came forward hesitantly. "A…Amy she's all right?"

Shadow nodded.

Winslow looked at Shadow puzzled, "but Dude, she wasn't breathing, the whole time you fought Erazor."

Shadow put his fingers to his lips and glanced back at Sonic.

"What were you thinking jumping in front of me like that?" Sonic told Amy. "You almost got yourself killed."

Shadow turned his attention back to the three. "Shh, I don't think he realizes that." Shadow whispered to them.

The other hedgehogs began to come down from the mountain path "Amy?" A large tan hedgehog with a pink hedgehog came over to them.

"Mom Dad?" Amy jumped out of Sonic's arms and hugged her parents.

"Baby girl you okay?" The brown hedgehog asked.

"I'm fine Dad,"

Two more adult hedgehogs advanced one a thin powder blue, and the other as blue as a summer sky. Shadow sighed watching Sonic lock eyes with his father in challenge.

"So you finally finished cleaning up this mess you made?" Jules asked sourly.

Shadow remembering how Sonic's father acted before refused to let this happy situation deteriorate. "Why don't we get some food and the ones truly responsible for this can explain what happened." With That Shadow glared over at Jayce and his fellows who stood by looking guilty.

Coming Soon:

"Maybe we could return the chalice to the temple you stole it from," Benny suggested.

Jules growled at the younger hedgehog, and snatched the chalice up into his hands. "I swore never to return that damn cup until they brought back Chance."


	23. Shadow: Debrief

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Thanks to all those who review!

CHAPTER 22 Shadow: Debrief

"So you went into the temple our parents have been telling us to stay out of for all of our lives, you found that damn lamp, and you let Erazor Djinn talk you into absorbing his power so you could just be more powerful than me?" Shadow watched Sonic rub his forehead. Shadow couldn't blame him he had nearly the same headache.

Jayce turned out the worse of the four. Martin and Winslow still had the purple markings that they sported when werehogs, but Jayce while mostly a hedgehog now had a furrier coat, and sharper teeth and claws than his fellows.

Jayce lowered his head and shrugged. "I know it was stupid, but he said that if I took the power I could beat you."

Sonic looked at Jayce crossly. "You wanted to beat me? Jayce, I should have Shadow pound you into the ground for all this trouble. He's stronger than me and beats me into the ground at least once a month."

"It's about time you acknowledged my superiority Sonic," Shadow said with a smirk. He hoped the banter would help Sonic keep his temper.

"I said you were stronger, Shads not faster," Sonic shot back with a smirk.

Jules glowered only at Sonic. "So in truth all this trouble was caused by of one of your enemies, because you couldn't leave well enough alone."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Right, Dad this is all about me, because I couldn't ignore a call for help. I'm sure you would have told the genie who begged me for help where to go, and let an entire series of literature vanish from existence."

Sonic's father now frowned and towered over Sonic, "Do you expect me to believe such a crazy story."

Sonic did not let his father bug him again. Keeping his voice even, he said, "Erazor was here, and I know where I fought him! And if Jayce had not wanted to outdo me so badly none of this would have happened. I never asked to be powerful Dad that was your fault. At least I use my power to help others. I just can't stand by and watch people in trouble and not help them." Sonic suddenly tired plopped down into a chair.

"Sonic?" Amy asked worried.

Shadow realized the reason at once. "Open up again Sonic," he advised. "You're low on energies,"

Sonic looked up at his father. "Not here," he insisted, "too many negative energies here if you know what I mean."

Shadow placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder, but Sonic shrugged him off. "No way Shadow, you were the one fighting Erazor."

Shadow frowned at his stubborn reflection. "Well you need to get some energy some way. Amy take him outside, he needs at least some sunshine."

Amy nodded and with a smile took Sonic's arm in hers, and led him out of the room.

Shadow now glared at Sonic's father. "If you want to play a blame game, if you had never stolen from The Seven, Sonic wouldn't have been born bonded to them. Whatever Sonic is now, you had a hand in making him. You should have just taken the debt you owed the Seven on yourself."

"I don't believe in The Seven," Sonic's father growled back at Shadow.

Winslow looked at Sonic's father incredulous. "Are you serious Jules? Blacky here called on the Seven and they sucked that Djinn dude right out of the world, plus they cured us, well sort of." He ran his fingers through his now purple stripe.

"Hopefully that is the only mark left from your ordeal, and is meant to remind you never to take power unless you accept responsibility for that power." Shadow said. "If I were the lot of you I'd find yourself the nearest inhabited temple and offer your services to The Seven. Perhaps Jayce if you pledged yourself to them, they might give you back your original appearance again."

"Maybe we could return the chalice to the temple you stole it from," Benny suggested.

Jules growled at the younger hedgehog, and snatched the Chalice up into his hands. "I swore never to return that damn cup until they brought back Chance."

"Who?" Shadow asked.

Sonic's father sighed and sat down looking at the ground. "Chance was my cousin and my best friend. It was his idea to go looking in the temple for the healing chalice. When we took that we didn't get any warnings, but then he found a cache of treasure in a chamber. That's when something came out of nowhere and told us the treasure wasn't for us, and it could upset the balance. Well my cousin was named Chance for a reason, he tried to take the chest from the wall, but he broke the wall, and some energy came out and sucked Chance away, and left that creature in his place. That's when the energy came after me saying that the balance had been upset and they wanted me to fix it. Ha! As if I could stop that monster once he built himself some robots."

"Robots?" Shadow echoed. "The being that appeared when your friend disappeared was Doctor Eggman?"

Jules glared up at Shadow, "Yeah what of it? Why do you think I don't want my son anywhere near that madman?"

"Shadow made one of his lightning fast strategy calculations. "Sonic first encountered Eggman around here, in this village?"

"Yeah," Jayce said snidely. "That's the first time the twerp didn't hold back on his speed. Shocked us all I can tell you that."

Shadow chuckled, putting the mystery together. "Sir, the moment you rejected The Seven they chose your unborn son to maintain the balance. From that moment on Sonic's life and The Doctor's were irrevocably linked. He was needed not just by you, but by your whole world."

"But what about Chance?" Sonic's father demanded. "Why couldn't they bring him back?"

"I wonder," Shadow said, more to himself that the others. "Your friend disappeared the same time Eggman appeared?"

"Yeah," Jules said warily,

"Which may mean he got transported to the world Eggman came from." Shadow sighed sadly. _Three bodies two worlds, and one soul. _He never forgot those words, the dreams he had about Specimen X were just another piece in the puzzle, and what Jules just told him added another poignant piece to his origin.

"You know something!" Jules accused.

Shadow sighed but did not deny it. "I may look like a hedgehog from your world, but I am not. I was created in a laboratory in Space in the world Eggman came from. I knew his grandfather, and cousin, but I never met him until he accidentally returned to Earth. It is a very long story, but I do know that I have three specific DNA bases, one was of a hedgehog from Earth, another was of an alien race, but the third they only referred to as Specimen X, and he was acquired from the military. I never saw him, or spoke to him, but once a kitsune sorcerous told me I was the child of three bodies, two worlds, and one soul. The soul I guess was my creator who always called me his son, but two worlds and three bodies?" Shadow sighed again. "Lately I've been getting clues that the third may have been one of your people. A recent DNA test seems to prove Sonic and I have DNA in common. Now I can't help but wonder if my third source was your friend, and if he was I apologize"

"Like you had a choice about being made in a lab," Sonic said from the doorway. "But it sure explains why your antitoxins work on me."

"Antitoxins?" Sonic's mother asked worried.

"Long story," Sonic, Shadow, and Amy said together.

Amy made Sonic sit in a chair, but Shadow noted that his blue reflection looked better. His quills looked the proper bright cobalt color, and the happy twinkle shown in his emerald eyes.

"I guess Chance didn't survive the transport to your world," Sonic's father said sullenly.

"I'm afraid I do not know," Shadow admitted. "If your friend was Specimen X, I was never told about it when I was created. I found out over fifty years later, and Sonic and I only had the DNA test recently." looking down at Sonic's father's downcast features Shadow said, "I promise you sir, if the opportunity comes where I find myself in that world again I will find him and bring him home somehow."

"I suppose I should thank you if you can," Jules said, " but I can't help but think of all the trouble that came from meddling around in that temple."

"Maybe," Amy said, "but maybe having Chance transported to Earth was a way of maintaining the balance in another way." When all the hedgehogs in the room looked at her, she explained. "Think about it. Didn't that Biolizard thing look a lot like the Black Arms Aliens?"

"Yeah I guess it kind of did," Sonic mused.

Amy continued. "So maybe Black Doom helped with the Biolizard, but it didn't come out right, or maybe it wouldn't have done what Black Doom wanted. For some reason Specimen X, and let's say for now it was your friend, is sent to him, and he uses the DNA. Now he has an ultimate life form that thinks for itself, and is resistant to all of Black Doom's tricks. I'd say that balanced the scales against The Black Arms pretty good."

"Do you think I care what happened on an alien world? I just want S...Sonic out of it." Jules snapped.

Sonic sighed, "You still don't get it dad. If I had stayed out of it, Eggman would have half the planet covered in metal by now, two classic pieces of literature would have been destroyed, not to mention the Planet Gaia."

"And Earth," Amy added. "You Saved Earth, from Chaos, Space Colony Ark, and the Black Arms."

"That was mostly Shadow," Sonic reminded her.

"But if you had not been there, Black Doom may have succeeded in corrupting me." Shadow said gently. "Certainly things would have turned out differently if he had."

Sonic shrugged. "Even if the fate of the planet wasn't at stake I wouldn't let anyone get turned evil, especially if they were as messed up as you were at the time."

Shadow nodded acknowledging Sonic's honest admission. "And we haven't even mentioned the Meterex. It makes me think back to Jet's story: Five of the Seven are the natural forces within all life bearing worlds the remaining two balance the five abilities for creation and destruction. When any of the five bind someone to their power that individual has the ability to use the power positively or negatively, and they act hopefully for the good of the world to maintain the balance."

"But why would you want negative energies anyway?" Sonic asked. "Why would you want to be a destructive force?"

"We both use destructive force Sonic," Shadow reminded him. Just ask The Doctor. It doesn't make us evil, no more than the hurricane that blew through a few weeks ago was evil. It simply is. Just like some seeds need fire in order to grow, and the river that floods brings nutrients to the soil there. Destructive forces allow for creation."

Amy smiled and nodded. "Professor Pickle told me that we need both the dark and the light to maintain the balance."

"Well forgive me for not liking dark energies," Sonic said with a sigh. "I don't like the way they make me feel, and I definitely don't like the way they make me act."

"Can you live without being the hurricane?" Shadow asked him.

Shadow watched Sonic go through several expressions before looking defeated. "No," he finally said sadly, "not if it means others will get hurt if I hold back, but I don't have to like it."

"Welcome to my world," Shadow said flatly.

Jayce and the others were now staring at the three incredulous. "Forget it," Jayce said, shaking his head firmly. "Sonic I don't think I want your life. It's too crazy if you ask me."

"If all that stuff they're spouting off is true," Winslow added.

"Eggman is real," Amy pointed out, "so is Shadow, and Erazor Djinn." She paused and looked down at Sonic thoughtfully. "I guess that means the King Arthur book was real too." When Sonic nodded she said, "I'm sorry."

Sonic smiled and patted Amy's hand. "Don't sweat it Amy. If it didn't happen to me I wouldn't have believed it either."

"My Son is not a hurricane," Jules growled at Shadow, finally getting a word in.

Sonic sighed. "Yes I am Dad. When being one means protecting those who need it, I'm the hurricane, the tornado, or the guided missile. Heck my best friend designed cannon around me with me as the cannonball."

"What?" his father demanded.

Shadow tried to calm the situation. "I was also shot out of that thing a time or two you know."

That made Sonic's father sputter speechless.

Maybe Sonic recognized Shadow's attempt for distraction. Without missing a beat Sonic grinned and said, "yeah, but when Tails designed the thing we didn't even know you were still alive."

Jayce just shook his head and laughed. "I don't even want to know," he said.

Shadow shrugged, but it looked like Sonic's father just about had enough. "Do you two even hear yourselves? You both go on about genies, Eggman, Antitoxins, and almost dying without even caring about your own lives! Do you want to die on one of these damn fool adventures of yours?"

Again, Sonic eyed his father unhappily. "I don't want to die, dad. I just can't let others die when I know I can do something about it."

"But it's not your responsibility," Jules said weakening.

Sonic shook his head firmly. "Having the power to do something about it makes it my responsibility. Honestly Dad what would you rather do, sit and cry about those who would have been killed when Eggman first shown up here, or do something about it?"

"But I can't fight giant robots!" Jules insisted.

"But I can," Sonic reminded him. "I can protect those who can't protect themselves. That's who I am. I just wish you could be proud of me for it, because I'm not going to change."

Sonic then looked over at Shadow and Amy. "Come on guys, we should be heading home."

That surprised the adults. "Sonic dear, it's going to be dark soon. You should at least spend the night." His mother said gently.

Shadow had the impression that Sonic didn't want to stay in this place any longer. The old sad memories mingled with the renewed arguments made the place uncomfortable for his blue reflection.

Sonic confirmed his guess by saying, "Shadow and I can put a few hundred miles behind us before dark mom. It's not a problem."

"You really should listen to your mother," His father said, but everything inside of Shadow sensed that the comment seemed false.

Sonic didn't buy it either. "Right, like you and Jayce want me to stay longer. We'll be fine."

"What about Amy," Amy's father said. "She took quite a hit out there. The least you two could do is let her rest."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm fine dad."

"Besides we are not going to make her run," Shadow said. "I'm going to carry her."

"I'm carrying her," Sonic insisted. "Amy saved my life, so it's only fair."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, but chose to say nothing. Maybe finally Sonic realized that he had feelings for Amy. Everyone knew he liked Amy, but typical Sonic he couldn't admit it to himself.

Amy's father glared at the two hedgehogs crossly. "You sure you want to go with these two? You could come home with us, baby girl."

Amy made a face at the pet name. "I want to go home dad, and for me home is Green Hill Valley. I'm not your baby girl anymore. I have friends there, and they need me."

Amy's parents sighed, and gave her a huge hug along with Benny. "If that's what you want Amy, I know better than to try to stop you once you made up your mind." Her father said.

"Thanks Dad," Amy said. "I love you."

"I love you too sweetie."

Benny looked at Amy sadly. "I'm gonna miss ya sis."

Amy smiled and hugged him again. "Just don't go scaring me the next time you want to pay a visit, silly." She said.

Sadly, Shadow couldn't help but notice that while Sonic's mother expressed that sentiment also, his father did not. He deliberately let Sonic and Amy go ahead so he could speak to Sonic's father alone.

"Your son is one of the most renowned heroes here and on several other planets, and yet you manage to reduce him to nothing in your presence simply because you see none of the good he does. In my mind that makes you nothing, for in the world I was raised a father is judged by the legacy he leaves in his children. If you think of Sonic as of no consequence, then you are less so."

Then he turned to Jayce and said firmly. "Never give Sonic a reason to return here again. For if he needs to, I shall come with him, and you will regret that course of action."

Jayce looked wider eyed at the black hedgehog, and said, "Got it."

Shadow nodded then ran off to catch up with Sonic and Amy.

Coming Soon:

Sonic looked right up at the statue longingly, and again Shadow felt a warm breeze. Then with a tiny sob, Sonic flung himself at the sculpture and began to cry in what could have been a lap.

Shadow glanced at Amy who had her eyes fixed on Sonic, but did not seem to be concerned in the least. "It's all right," Amy said gently, still staring at Sonic curled up around part of the sculpture. "For a very long time he held in these emotions. Before he can begin to heal his spirit he must release his pain and anguish."

Shadow frowned listening to Amy speak. The tone and cadence of her words were off. Not liking his thoughts Shadow asked with a hint of a growl in his voice, "is this Amy Rose speaking to me or are you someone else?"


	24. Shadow: A stop along the way

**Thanks for all the reviews. I still have a few more chapters to add. **

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

**Chapter: 23 Shadow: A stop along the way **

Shadow noticed right away that Sonic didn't appear to be going straight home. Still he kept his peace until the sun began to lower closer to the horizon. "Are we going home or do you have another destination in mind,"

Sonic grinned. "Had a place in mind when we left. Follow me."

Shadow followed Sonic through an old canyon and a dry riverbed. Shadow wondered where Sonic intended to lead them.

Just when the Sun touched the horizon Shadow saw a temple carved from the side of a volcano. Sonic stopped at the doorway and smiled at the carved decorations.

"You know my dad telling me to stay out of old ruins never did keep me away from them. I always felt safe in them. I knew I could shut out the whole world if I wanted too."

"But you didn't hide in them forever," Amy noted. She and Shadow followed behind Sonic walking inside.

Sonic gave a combination of a laugh and a snort. "You know I could never hold still long enough to just stay here. I always wondered what lay over the next hill. When Eggman flew over that hill to get away from me I decided to follow him over it, and that began everything." Then with a sigh, Sonic added, "or at least I always thought that began everything."

Shadow shrugged. "You and Rouge always tell me that I had absolutely no control over the fact I am a genetically engineered creature. I'm guessing you had less control over what your father and his friend did before you were even born."

"I guess," Sonic said still frowning. "But my dad and Chance went looking for the goblet because my mom was sick when she was having me. So in a way I am responsible for it all."

"Your father could have paid his debt and balanced the powers himself, but he chose not to." Shadow reminded him. "If it bothers you, do your best to balance the light and dark energies yourself, but you do that anyway."

"I didn't do a very good job this last time," Sonic muttered. A strange serious frown on his face. Shadow knew Sonic still had some internal problem going on related to his nightmares, but he still seemed to be unaware of his subconscious struggle. Amy also seemed to sense Sonic's mood, and reached over to pat his shoulder. To Shadow's surprise Sonic reciprocated, by patting Amy's hand to reassure her. Shadow could never remember an incident where Sonic went out of his way to touch Amy.

"You were wise enough not to use the Chaos Emeralds when upset." Shadow reminded him, quick to cover his surprise. "You even cut yourself off from energies that you thought would harm you. I was unaware you had that much conscious control over your ability to absorb energy."

Sounding a bit surprised Sonic said, "I didn't know I could either until I had some crazy black and red hedgehog telling me not to absorb the energy." The last bit said with a chuckle. "Then I just sort of did it."

Shadow shook his head in amazement. "Sometimes I think you are a puzzle even to yourself hedgehog."

Together the three found a room with some niches carved into the walls similar to the beds Sonic and Shadow used once in Crystal City. They cushioned the niches with fresh leaves and moss and settled into them for the night.

Shadow feigned going to sleep, but he decided to stay awake and keep watch. He felt an unmistakable sensation of presence, but the presence didn't feel threatening. In fact, he felt rather welcome and safe here. _Sonic mentioned coming out here before. I wonder what this old temple used to be, and if Sonic is attuned to the spirits that dwell here. _

Two hours later Shadow heard Sonic fidgeting and muttering in his sleep. Shadow listened carefully trying to figure out the puzzle within Sonic's mind.

"N...no Shara what are you doing? Sacrifice no! Shara! Shara? Amy? AMY!"

Sonic's eyes shot open and called out Amy's name again before he came to his senses. Amy opened her eyes and looked at Sonic puzzled at first but then realized what happened. "Sonic, are you all right?"

"Amy," Sonic said with a shudder. "I dreamed...I thought you died."

Amy drew Sonic into her arms for a gentle hug, which he did not resist. "It's all right Sonic. It was just a bad dream," she said gently. She began to rub on the spot by Sonic's lower jaw which began to calm him down.

_Not necessarily true,_ Shadow thought. He knew that Amy's heart did stop for some time and The Seven did _something_ to bring her back to life.

Under Amy's gentle care, Sonic began to relax and drift off again, but for some reason Shadow became more alert. That sense of presence seemed stronger now. Sonic's dream might have caught something's attention. Shadow suppressed a shudder. The wind blew a little harder, and suddenly Sonic sat up and shook Amy off him. Amy released him, and when he rose to his feet apparently intent on following something Shadow could not hear, Amy followed him.

Alarmed Shadow jumped up from his niche and followed both of them, through the twisting dark corridors of this temple. Sonic, apparently unaware of Shadow's presence, seemed to be aware and intent on finding something within the ruins of this temple. Suddenly Sonic went into a chamber with an alter and some strange sculpture of green and blue stone swirled together in different hues. The more Shadow stared at the sculpture the more he could see hints of arms and maybe a face, but oddly the location of the "face" and "arms" kept changing.

Sonic looked right up at the statue longingly, and again Shadow felt a warm breeze. Then with a tiny sob, Sonic flung himself at the sculpture and began to cry in what could have been a lap.

Shadow glanced at Amy who had her eyes fixed on Sonic, but did not seem to be concerned in the least. "It's all right," Amy said gently still staring at Sonic curled up around part of the sculpture. "For a very long time he held in these emotions. Before he can begin to heal his spirit he must release his pain and anguish."

Shadow frowned listening to Amy speak. The tone and cadence of her words were off. Not liking his thoughts Shadow asked with a hint of a growl in his voice, "is this Amy Rose speaking to me or are you someone else?"

"Amy Rose is here, but what she has permitted you should not concern yourself with." Amy or whatever using Amy said.

Keeping that growl in his tone Shadow said. "I do not know you or your purpose involving my friends. Forgive me but I shall remain concerned."

To his surprise, Amy laughed at his harshness. "A good answer I am rightfully rebuked, but I mean them no harm. I belong to them, as they belong to me, and I would not see harm come to them any more than you would." With that, she drew close to Sonic and placed her hand on his head. Sonic stopped crying, snuggled into Amy's arms. "It's all right my little speedster, she crooned. "You need not worry for anything while you are within my sanctuary."

Shadow sighed. "He cannot - we cannot stay." Shadow told her.

"I know," she answered sadly. "And I can only grant him peace of mind for a limited time. You Shadow Hedgehog need to help heal his heart, and free his spirit from this pain that enslaves him."

Shadow nodded. "If I knew how to I would, but I have no idea what he needs much less what I need to do."

Amy or whatever shook her head. "All I know is that the answer is within you Shadow Hedgehog. I hope for his sake that you find it soon." Then Amy closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep with Sonic in her arms.

Shadow sighed pensively. He examined the alter, and sure enough found the mark Jet identified as the symbol for the Spirit of Air. _There is nothing I can do about it, _Shadow reminded himself, _what is done is done, and the Spirit just gave me a means to help Sonic. The answer lies within me. I just have to figure out what Sonic needs from me._

With that thought on his mind, Shadow found a ledge in a corner of the room and rested up above the room keeping an eye on Sonic and Amy for the rest of the night.

By Shadow's accounting, it was nearly dawn when Sonic stirred again. Shadow grinned watching Sonic blush a bit embarrassed and surprised, finding himself entwined in Amy's arms. Very gently, he disentangled himself from Amy and looked around. He didn't look worried about his change of location. Instead, he seemed to be looking for something.

_Or someone,_ Shadow thought to himself. He coughed slightly to get Sonic's attention. When his blue reflection looked up Shadow jumped down to, join him. Sonic smiled a greeting then with a tilt of his head for an invitation led Shadow to the entrance of the room. Standing just outside the room keeping one eye on the still sleeping Amy Sonic quietly asked, "Shadow what happened last night?"

Knowing that Sonic needed to think through things for himself Shadow asked, "what do you remember?"

Sonic's eyes grew distant. "I remember having a nightmare; a new one. I don't remember that one either, but then I had another dream where someone called me, and..." Sonic paused a frown on his features trying to find the right words. "I didn't have to answer it. She wasn't controlling me or anything, but something inside of me wanted to answer. I was in a cleaned up version of this temple, and I could kind of see her, and when she told me that it was alright to be angry and confused about what happened..." Sonic trembled slightly with the remembered emotion. "I...I don't know exactly what happened then...it was like a release. I didn't have to hold it all in anymore. I don't remember anything after that."

Shadow nodded thoughtfully. "I knew you were intent upon something, but I did not know what it was. You did not appear aware of me."

Sonic frowned again in thought. "I...I kind of remember you being there, but the part of me in control didn't really care. It was like I was here and somewhere else at the same time, and the somewhere else was more important."

Shadow nodded. "You seem to have taken no harm from the encounter. Do you feel better? Knuckles and I were both aware that you were in the midst of some internal struggle, but you were unwilling to talk about it."

Sonic's expression turned inward. "I know I've been out of sorts lately, those dreams have been driving me a little crazy. I wish I could remember them." Then he looked back at the statue. "I do know I feel safe here. Jet is right about me, and The Spirit of Air. I can feel her now watching over me here."

"There is a presence here," Shadow following Sonic's eyes to the statue. He wondered what Sonic thought when he looked at the statue. "Very distinct, similar to the Spirits in Knuckles shrine, but I feel no malice here. I actually feel rather comforted."

Sonic took a deep breath and smiled. "Yeah I feel it too. I just wish she'd talk to me or something. I got a lot of questions for her."

Just then, Amy yawned and stirred. She opened her eyes, and smiled at the two hedgehogs. "Have you two been waiting for me to wake up?" She asked sounding surprised.

"We're in no rush," Sonic said cheerfully then with more concern asked, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted, "but I could do with a little breakfast."

Shadow wondered where they could get food from in the middle of the wilderness, but Sonic smiled, and scooped Amy up in his arms. "Follow me," he said mischievously.

Sonic led them to an open wide area. Sunlight streamed from the crater above them. Inside the volcano, trees and shrubs grew looking almost like a miniature garden.

"It's beautiful," Amy said. Sonic set her down gently. Amy immediately went to inspect every plant. Sonic pointed out to Shadow some of the fruit trees.

"We got a couple of apple, pear and peach trees here, not to mention strawberry and raspberry bushes. There's plenty of food here."

Shadow nodded. "It appears that these plants were put here on purpose."

"Appears nothing, take a look over here," Sonic said. Shadow followed Sonic to at area near another entrance. There they found a fountain of polished granite with fresh water bubbling into the bowl. Carved into the fountain were two circular symbols one of which Shadow recognized.

"That's the symbol for the Spirit of water," Shadow said surprised.

Sonic nodded, "and I'm no lore master but I'd bet the other symbol is for the Spirit of Life. I used to hang out here a lot away from my family. I knew I could always find food water and shelter here. I still come out here to think. In fact, this is where Tails found me when he told me what you two did. Why did you go off without me? This wasn't your fight."

Shadow shrugged. "Like I said Knuckles and I were aware that you had some sort of issue, and that it had to do with dark energy, but we did not have enough information to act. When I saw Benny and heard his story I decided that it would be more efficient to take care of Jayce myself rather than rescue you later."

"Touché," Sonic said with a grin. Then he led Shadow into the garden so they could have their breakfast.

Coming Soon:

_What the hell was Sonic so upset about?_

_Suddenly angry, and somehow knowing that neither he nor Sonic could be truly harmed in this place savagely jumped into the circle of Dark Sonics and fought them until they dissipated back into the formlessness of the dreamscape. Then he turned on Sonic, and landed a left cross across the blue hedgehog's jaw. _

_"You moron," he shouted, "You selfish blue idiot! Nobody died! Nobody even got seriously hurt! How did you fail? You never failed! Molly and Maria are dead and I didn't get any wishes or guardian spirits to bring them back! You've had Amy in your arms every night, and I will always be alone!"_

_Sonic at first surprised and hurt, now looked back at Shadow guilty. "Shadow," he said sadly._

_Shadow didn't care. All he felt was his frustration and rage, and again without understanding how he knew, he knew that he could not truly hurt Sonic here. He was free to release all his anger at Sonic without consequence. _

_Shadow attacked._


	25. Shadow: Into his Dreams

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

CHAPTER 24 Shadow: Into his dreams

_One week later_

Shadow sighed and flipped through the last few pages of the book looking at the illustrations more than the final words. He knew the story by heart. _...and the king removed the sentence of death from Shahrazard and he with his clever wife were happy to the end of their days._ Maria loved that story. Would that all stories had a happy ending. Shadow didn't know if Sonic was having such a happy ending. The evil Djinn was vanquished, and his family safe, but Shadow knew that nightmares still plagued the blue hero, and stubborn Sonic still refused to deal with whatever troubled him_. I understand his whole don't look back philosophy, but something in his own subconscious is not with that program._ Sonic has to deal with this issue plaguing him, or he's going to have more problems than we all can deal with.

Shadow closed his eyes and remembered back to early this morning when he found Sonic sneaking out of Amy's house to go back to his own. Shadow knew that something new in Sonic's dreams was causing him to go check on Amy in the middle of the night. Amy always seemed to be up and almost waiting for him, and, once Sonic entered her home, he would not be seen until dawn. Shadow suspected that Sonic kept flashing back to when Amy almost died, and he could not sleep unless he knew she was safe.

_In a huge role reversal, he sat on Sonic's porch waiting for the truant hedgehog to return home. Sonic pulled up short at seeing Shadow. "Uh hi Shadow. What's up?"_

_"You apparently," Shadow answered smoothly not appearing to care. Knuckles and Rouge were also in on this little conspiracy. Rouge needed to talk to Amy, but Knuckles and Shadow both agreed that Shadow could pull off the following conversation without blushing or feeling embarrassed. _

_Giving Sonic his cold "I really don't want to be bothered" look he said casually, "not that I particularly care where you're sleeping, but you may want to rethink your current arrangements before Amy gets old enough to come into season. From what I hear when it happens your instincts will say to hell with your desire not to be a father, and they will do what comes naturally." Before Sonic could stop sputtering a denial Shadow rose to his feet and walked past Sonic, and added, "oh and Sonic, if you break her heart I will break your neck." _

Whether or not that would solve or prevent that problem remained to be seen, but like Shadow reminded Knuckles, it wasn't any of their business. He just wished he could figure out what he could do to restore Sonic's peace of mind.

Shadow opened the book again and on impulse chose to read Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, but before he could get ten pages into the book the black and red hedgehog fell fast asleep.

_Shadow wondered if reading the stories crafted the dream before him. This grand palace looked like it had been taken straight out of the Arabian nights. He saw Sonic with a strange beautiful girl who could have passed for a human being except for the cotton candy pink hair, the delicate elfin pointed ears, and the fact that she hovered six inches off the ground. _

_The Erazor Djinn stood before them with a wicked grin on his face. He beckoned to the female who, with tears streaming down her face floated forward carrying seven rings with her._

_"Shara what are you doing?" Sonic's voice was thick with panic. "Think about what will happen!"_

_The Dark Djinn beckoned to the Genie of the ring. "Shara, please, let us rule this world together."_

_Weeping the beautiful Genie said. "I'm sorry. I have no choice...I just want to be back with him."_

_The scene sped up, and Shadow heard the Djinn say, "but the life of the collector of the rings shall be offered as a sacrifice for key to that control. I offer up your life blue hedgehog!"_

_"What? No!" _

_A slash a strike and the girl lay at the blue hedgehog's feet dead. Three of the rings erupted out of the creature that used to be Erazor Djinn, and Sonic absorbed them transforming into something he never saw before. His fur became a deep indigo with white stripes and eyes glowed white minus the pupil and iris. He saw Sonic strangle the Dark Djinn and, rip the creature apart._

_"You see," the creature that should have been Sonic said. It turned to the left and Shadow looked to see Sonic, the true Sonic, looking small and ill on the floor at the feet of the darker version of himself. "Only like this are we strong! Only like this can we win! If you stay weak if you do not release us you will fail!"_

_Other images formed around Sonic. Shadow saw Sonic and Black Narcissist aboard the Meterex ship The boy Chris and Cosmo entrapped and imprisoned. He saw Erazor Djinn again this time Amy dead at Sonic's feet. Now Shadow understood what he saw. _

_This is Sonic's nightmare! Shadow thought to himself. It's these dark versions of himself that have been plaguing him. No wonder he wants nothing to do with dark energy! _

_Shadow watched different dark versions of Sonic berate the true Sonic. One looked like the werehog form Jayce and his gang wore from Erazor Djinn. Another incarnation was the blue and white dark Sonic from the beginning of the dream. A third truly frightening being, a Sonic his fur a blue black and white glowing eyes without iris or pupils like some dark spirit. Shadow suspected that it was this dark version of Sonic that frightened Eggman. _

_"You're going to get your friends killed!"_

_"What makes you think you're a hero?"_

_"You couldn't keep them safe"_

_"You're going to fail"_

_On one hand, Shadow finally understood the torment Sonic put himself through night after night. How many times did he struggle with his own dark emotions? On the other hand Shadow knew that Amy was alive. Granted Sonic had nothing to do with it, but she still lived. The boy Chris Thorndyke and Cosmo had a few injuries, but they were fine when he rescued them. Even the girl Genie ultimately survived the encounter. Sonic may not have rescued them, but Shadow did not consider these exploits a failure. _

_Sonic never failed._

_Shadow had failed, and he didn't have a magic lamp or a powerful guardian spirit to clean up his messes. Molly died. Maria died, and he did not get any second chances or wishes to make it otherwise. _

_What the hell was Sonic so upset about?_

_Suddenly angry, and somehow knowing that neither he nor Sonic could be truly harmed in this place savagely jumped into the circle of Dark Sonics and fought them until they dissipated back into the formlessness of the dreamscape. Then he turned on Sonic, and landed a left cross across the blue hedgehog's jaw. _

_"You moron," he shouted, "You selfish blue idiot! Nobody died! Nobody even got seriously hurt! How did you fail? You never failed! Molly and Maria are dead and I didn't get any wishes or guardian spirits to bring them back! You've had Amy in your arms every night, and I will always be alone!"_

_Sonic at first surprised and hurt, now looked back at Shadow guilty. "Shadow," he said sadly._

_Shadow didn't care. All he felt was his frustration and rage, and again without understanding how he knew that he could not truly hurt Sonic here. He was free to release all his anger at Sonic without consequence. _

_Shadow attacked._

"Shadow woke with a massive headache, and an angry guardian spirit scolding him as best she could considering he could not hear or see her. He shouldn't be angry with Sonic. None of this was his fault. How dare he blame Sonic for things that happened when he wasn't around and wasn't even born yet.

"That's not the point!" Shadow shouted at the air begging with his thoughts for her to remove the headache. "He was freaking out over nothing. None of his friends were even seriously hurt! He can hold Amy and hug her and I...I can't hold you!" With that, Shadow curled up into a ball and began to cry.

The annoyance In the air turned to concern. Shadow felt the air in the room change as his spirit guardian tried to wrap him in her love until he fell asleep again.

Coming Soon

Less than a minute later, the door flew open and an extremely angry Shadow glared back at him. Tails easily assessed that the spirit must have awakened Shadow. He looked like a bristle brush with his quills all in disarray, and dark rings around his eyes.

_Had Shadow been crying?_

_Ignore it._ Tails instantly told himself. Shadow would not want that particular observation spoken of. Instead, he said firmly and business like. "We need to talk."

Shadow with a furious scowl began to close the door. Tails stuck his foot in and addressed the angry hedgehog. "You and Sonic were both in the dreamscape together! I know it because otherwise Sonic would not have woken up with spirit wounds, telling me that you punched him. That means you saw inside his dream! None of us including Sonic knows what he's dreaming of, or why it scares him. You have to tell me what you saw in his dream or...or so help me I will get Vector, Espio, and Knuckles to drag both of you to Cobbler!"


	26. Tails: Answers

**To Catch a Bluebird**

**By Kellie Fay **

**Thanks for all the great reviews. I thought more people would comment on Amy almost dying but well I would never kill a Cannon character and leave them dead. Please review more I love the feedback. **

**CHAPTER 25 Tails: Answers **

_You never failed! Molly and Maria are dead and I didn't get any wishes or guardian spirits to bring them back! You've had Amy in your arms every night, and I will always be alone!"_

_Shadow was right. Sonic knew it. He'd been upset over things that did not happen, and that wasn't like him. He didn't even think about the fact that Shadow had failed his friend Maria, and would live with that scar forever. He lowered his head and allowed the blows to fall knowing that he deserved it._

"Sonic, Sonic! Wake up!"

Sonic opened his eyes on a way too bright morning with a way too wide-awake fox kit trying to coax him into awareness.

"Unhg" Sonic murmured. He felt awful. His back and shoulders hurt, his head hurt. He felt like he just got run over by the Death Egg. He closed his eyes again and tried to sit up on the couch, but he hurt so much he needed Tails help to do so.

"Oh man!" Sonic said with his head in his hands. "Can I get the number of the semi that ran me over last night?"

Tails gave Sonic a visual once over and shook his head puzzled. Sonic didn't appear hurt. "Are you okay Sonic?"

"Still trying to figure that one out," Sonic said absently.

Tails looked at Sonic again picking up the blue hedgehog's chin so he could look into his eyes. "Stay put," Tails said gently. "I'll see what I can give you."

Tails came back with a tea that managed to make most of Sonics aches and pains go away. He still had a headache, and for some reason his jaw hurt. When Tails caught him rubbing it again he asked, "your jaw hurts that much?"

Sonic chuckled. "I feel like Shadow clocked me into next week. I didn't mean to make him mad."

Tails laughed. "You dreamed you pissed Shadow off and he beat you up?"

Sonic sighed. "It didn't feel like a dream. It felt real. Heck I feel like Shadow really did beat me to a pulp."

"You remember?" Tails asked. Sonic's biggest problem was that he could not remember what he dreamed. He had no idea why his subconscious was up in arms.

"Sort of," Sonic said closing his eyes. Whatever Tails gave him made his limbs feel heavy and made him want to keep his eyes closed, but he didn't hurt anymore.

"Starting to feel a little muzzy brained?" Tails asked knowingly. He put another cup of tea in Sonic's hand, and he sipped at it without thinking.

"Yeah, what did you give me?" Sonic asked.

"One of Cobblers brews. Yeah your gonna feel out of it for a few hours." Tails explained. "But if you let go and try not to think too hard you might be able to remember your nightmares."

"I don't want to remember them," Sonic said allowing Tails to lay him back down. "I want them to stop."

"They aren't going to stop until you deal with them," Tails said firmly. "Just lay there and veg for a while. Let the tea work its way out of your system. I'll be back in a little while."

Sonic gave out a huge yawn and muttered, "mn...kay"

"Just rest," Tails said. "I'll be back soon."

Tails left Sonic dozing on his couch and went up to his room. Hidden under his bed Tails took out his treasure box, and removed a small golden cord. It was something Cobbler gave him long ago. Once outside, Tails draped the cord across the front door. He never dared use this when Sonic was recovering from poison. Cobbler told him that if he left the chord across a threshold Sonic would not be able to cross it. It just would not occur to him to leave the building. If used too often or for too long Sonic would easily break the compulsion so Tails never used it unless he thought it was vitally important. He wanted to get to the bottom of this problem, and that meant he needed to know what Shadow saw in The Dreamscape. _And if this doesn't work, I'm having Knuckles kidnap both of them and drag them to Cobbler._

Shadow lived five miles out of the village to discourage visitors, but it never discouraged Sonic, Cream or anyone else. Tails simply flew the distance and landed easily on Shadow's front porch. He wanted to get back before the herbs he gave Sonic wore off. He knocked on the door, but Shadow didn't answer. He tried again, but still no one answered. Tails frowned. He considered the possibility that Shadow could be elsewhere, but Sonic's symptoms indicated that both of them had been in the dreamscape. _Then again, if Shadow got pissed off enough to beat Sonic up in The Dreamscape he's probably sleeping off that reaction too._

Instead of knocking a third time Tails closed his eyes and called out into the air. "Please guardian spirit, protector of Shadow; I need to speak with him." A breeze waited through his fur and a calmness settled in his mind. Remembering what he learned long ago when he was just a tiny kit, he knew that someone answered his call.

Less than a minute later the door flew open, and an extremely angry Shadow glared back at him. Tails easily assessed that the spirit must have awakened Shadow. He looked like a bristle brush with his quills all in disarray, and dark rings around his eyes.

_Had Shadow been crying?_

_Ignore it._ Tails instantly told himself. Shadow would not want that particular observation spoken of. Instead, he said firmly and business like. "We need to talk."

Shadow, with a furious scowl began to close the door. Tails stuck his foot in, and addressed the angry hedgehog. "You and Sonic were both in the dreamscape together! I know it because otherwise Sonic would not have woken up with spirit wounds, telling me that you punched him. That means you saw inside his dream! None of us including Sonic knows what he's dreaming of, or why it scares him. You have to tell me what you saw in his dream or...or so help me I will get Vector, Espio, and Knuckles to drag both of you to Cobbler!"

Shadow looked down his nose at the young fox kit. Tails tried not to think of how other Kitsune would look at him like that calling him worthless. Instead, he kept an image of Sonic in his mind trying to be strong and tough even though he knew that Shadow could easily kill him.

But the black hedgehog only sighed, and said, "I believe you would despite the possible threat to your own life, cub." With that, Shadow turned and went back into his home, but left his front door open for Tails to follow him in. When Tails came in, he noticed Shadow move over to his extra room. His hand rested on the doorknob for a moment, but then he turned away from the door, and left it open.

Tails chose not to react. If the spirit that haunted Shadow's house was influencing Shadow not to throw him out, Tails was not about to be point that out to him.

Shadow meanwhile had come to face him at the table. He gestured for Tails to sit. Tails did so and watched Shadow pace back and forth a few times a deep confused frown on his features. Finally, he turned to Tails and asked, "how could I have been inside of Sonic's dream? Why would he say I beat him up?"

"He didn't, say it directly," Tails explained. At first, he said it only felt like you hit him, but then he said he didn't mean to make you mad. That told me that while Sonic doesn't really remember the dream, he remembered you, that and the fact that he had real spirit wounds told me that you were with him in The Dreamscape"

"Spirit wounds?" Echoed Shadow puzzled. "So I really did hurt Sonic? What is this Dreamscape you keep talking about?"

"It's where our spirits sometimes go when we dream," Tails explained. "According to kitsune legend when spirits call us, and want to talk to us they do so in The Dreamscape, but if you have a trained will you can get into the dreamscape on your own." Tails gave Shadow a quizzical look. "You do realize that you've been in the dreamscape dozens of times Every time you dreamed of your friend you've been with her in The Dreamscape."

Suddenly Shadow understood. "So the dream I had with Sonic was real in a sense. I...I hurt him then."

"Not badly," Tails hasten to reassure Shadow. "Technically he feels the injuries because he thought the dream was real. They're in his mind rather than on his body, but he will feel them for a few hours. That's why I need you to tell me what you saw in his dream. We need to find a way to help him deal with this so he can let it go."

Shadow nodded. "Yes I will tell you, but first you must tell me about what caused Sonic to become a werehog." Before Tails could argue the point Shadow said, "I saw Sonic as the werehog within his dream as well as two other dark incarnations. If we are to understand the patterns of Sonic's thoughts I must know what you know about these transformations."

"Two other dark incarnations? Shadow what did you see?" Tails asked confused.

"Shadow folded his arms over his chest and glared at Tails firmly. "You first."

Tails sighed and relented. "We'll it all started a few years ago when I went to visit an old friend of mine on planet Gaia, and Amy came along to do some shopping. Sonic tagged along because he heard rumors of Eggman being near Planet Gaia. He managed to have all The Chaos Emeralds so I figured he'd just go Super Sonic and take care of Eggman." Tails paused very uncomfortable with the idea of breaking his promise to Sonic, but Shadow saw the werehog in Sonic's dream, and he'd seen Benny and Jayce, so keeping the cause of it secret seemed superfluous. He looked up at Shadow who waited with only a hint of annoyance. With a deep breath Tails said, "things didn't go the way I thought they would."

Tails proceeded to tell Shadow everything he knew about Sonic's transformation into a werehog, the creatures Dark Gaia and Light Gaia, and anything else he thought might be significant. Shadow listened with his eyes closed in a pose that told Tails the black and red hedgehog was deep in thought.

When Tails finished his story, Shadow's eyes popped open, and he asked, "and in all the time he was this creature did he ever seem overly emotional?"

Tails dredged back his memory but after a few moments of thought shook his head no. "No, he seemed just like Sonic. Mind you after he set me up with Professor Pickle I didn't see him at night that often." Tails frowned when a sudden idea came to him. "It is possible that he avoided us at night. I think he was a little embarrassed about his appearance, but he never said anything."

Shadow nodded in acknowledgement. Tails then gave a little cough and said, "your turn."

Tails suspected that Shadow gave him a slightly edited version of the dream simply to avoid explaining why he beat Sonic up in the dreamscape. Tails let it slide focusing instead on the other two versions of Sonic's dark side.

"I knew of the dark transformation on Black Narcissist ship because The Doctor and the robots spoke of it, but I have a feeling no one knew much about the incarnation that happened in the alternative dimension."

Tails sighed pensively. "He never told me about it. I mean he told me about the girl genie and The Erazor Djinn, but he didn't tell me she died, or about that transformation."

"The girl didn't die!" Shadow snapped at Tails. "Sonic got that monster Djinn to bring her back to life. Amy didn't die either! I don't see how Sonic could have been that upset about any of it."

Tails realized that Shadow's ire had something to do with the spirit wounds Sonic received, but he shelved the thought in light of the fact that Shadow was right. Sonic even in the dream would know that everything turned out fine. "Then something else must have upset him." After a moment of thought, he asked. "Tell me what happened on the Meterex ship. Sonic acted like it wasn't a big deal, but I know he didn't sleep well for a few nights afterwards, and right after we got back home he started having the nightmares."

"That's it then," Shadow said. He quickly told Tails what happened aboard Black Narcissist ship. By the end of the story, Tails fur stood on end visibly chilled.

He sat quietly for some time thinking about all he knew. Finally, he said quietly. "It's not what happened to Amy or the Genie that upset Sonic. It's what happened to him."

"The transformations," Shadow said simply.

Tails nodded. "Sonic does have a temper. It just doesn't come out very often. Usually when Sonic thinks he failed someone. Having that girl die in his arms... It had to be way more than he could take."

"The same with seeing the Thorndyke boy injured." Shadow mused. "Like Knuckles told me before; everyone has a breaking point."

"I think that incident with Black Narcissist really scared him. He didn't tell me about what happened, but after I found out about Cosmo he told me the first time he heard her calling him he thought he was going crazy, and it scared him."

"I can understand the fear of losing one's mind," Shadow said, "but he is still internalizing these emotions, and not talking to us."

With a true Kitsune smile of mischief Tails said, "that is about to change. How do you feel about kidnapping Sonic and using Chaos Control to bring him to Cobbler?"

Shadow gave Tails one of his purely intimidating grins. "At your service," he said.

Coming Soon:

With a sigh he said, "you know what the worst thing is?" He didn't wait for Amy's answer. "Tails is right. I'm never gonna beat this thing until I figure out what I'm dreaming about. It's all stuck in my head." Then he had an epiphany. He popped open his eyes and looked directly at Amy. "Wait a minute! You!"

"Me?" Amy asked puzzled.

"That's what you were trying to do to the day Benny showed up right? You were trying to get me to tell you about the nightmares." Sonic said thinking.

Amy winced, and pulled away "Sonic I am so sorry about-" began, but Sonic reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her close again.

"No Amy, you've been trying to help me. I was just being an idiot. I should have let you get into my head."

Amy gave Sonic a skeptical look. "Later I'm going to ask Tails about those herbs he gave you. You're out of your mind."

Sonic chuckled, "maybe, but maybe we should take advantage of it. I won't have the nerve to do this later." He looked up at Amy his eyes begging her. "Please try now."


	27. To Stand Against the Nightmare

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

**Yay another weekend, another chapter! **

**CHAPTER 26 To Stand Against the Nightmare **

Sonic swore woozily that he would never ask Tails for painkillers again. Whatever herbs Tails gave him had him down for the count. He didn't hurt anymore except for a slight headache, but he felt so heavy and tired. He had absolutely no inclination to get up and do anything. He hated holding still for any length of time, and even though he didn't want to move, to feel that moving became a chore grated against his better nature.

On top of that, restlessness, Tails had told him to try to recall more of the dream. He didn't want to, but with a lack of other distractions, his thoughts kept drifting to the edge of that fear and pain that woke him.

Sonic felt so out of it that when the door knocked Sonic just said, "Come in," automatically. He didn't even open his eyes. He heard the footsteps then Amy's voice call out. "Tails have you seen- oh Sonic! I was looking for you."

"Hi," he said not opening his eyes.

For a few moments, Amy didn't answer. Then she gently asked, "you look awful. I guess you didn't sleep well last night."

"No," Sonic said with a sigh. "I dreamed Shadow beat me up for having my bad dream, but when I woke up I still hurt. Tails gave me something out of Cobbler's medicine chest, but it's got me all fuzzy brained and woozy."

Amy chuckled. "No wonder you're acting like your half asleep, I think you are."

"Don't wanna sleep," Sonic whined sounding like a reluctant toddler. "Don't wanna dream anymore. Don't want to remember."

"Oh Sonic," Suddenly Sonic felt something soft and pillowy being placed under his head. Confused he opened his eyes and saw that his head rested on Amy's lap. "What happen to the Sonic I fell in love with who never ran from a fight?"

"He's tired," Sonic complained. "He's short on sleep, he got beaten up in a dream and still feels it, and you'd have to ask Tails and Knuckles how _that_ works, and damn it all I want is a good night sleep."

Amy started giving gentle scratches on the back of Sonic's neck beneath his main quills, and he felt a calmness flow over him. At this point, he didn't care. The gentle touch felt good, and it wasn't sending him to sleep, it was just taking the edge off his frustration. However, once he didn't feel so wound up he could easily see what Tails explained to him. With a sigh he said, "you know what the worst thing is?" He didn't wait for Amy's answer. "Tails is right. I'm never gonna beat this thing until I figure out what I'm dreaming about. It's all stuck in my head. Then he had an epiphany. He popped open his eyes and looked directly at Amy. "Wait a minute! You!"

"Me?" Amy asked puzzled.

"That's what you were trying to do to the day Benny showed up right? You were trying to get me to tell you about the nightmares." Sonic said thinking.

Amy winced, and pulled away "Sonic I am so sorry about-" began, but Sonic reached out, and grabbed her pulling her hand back to his side.

"No Amy, you've been trying to help me. I was just being an idiot. I should have let you get into my head."

Amy gave Sonic a skeptical look. "Later I'm going to ask Tails about those herbs he gave you. You're out of your mind."

Sonic chuckled. "Maybe, but maybe we should take advantage of it. I won't have the nerve to do this later." He looked up at Amy his eyes begging her. "Please try now."

Amy sighed, and gently kissed Sonic's forehead. She gently reached out for Sonic's temples, and began to trace circles at the base of his temples.

The rush of endorphins Amy stimulated made Sonic let out a tiny groan of pleasure. Between the herbs in his system, and Amy stimulating those pressure points, Sonic felt disconnected from his body. He couldn't seem to focus on any thought at all.

"Sonic can you hear me?" Amy's voice drifted within the fog in his mind.

Sonic couldn't dredge up the energy to answer her, but his body seemed to be working without him. "Hmmm...yeah," he heard his own voice answer.

"Okay then let's start with something simple," Amy said. "Tell me about the dream with Shadow. You said he beat you up."

"Uh huh," Sonic heard himself answer. "Was mad cuz I was acting like you and Shara died, but you didn't. Maria did die, and he didn't get any second chances. Didn't mean to be such an idiot about it."

"Who's Shara?"

"Genie of the ring," Sonic mumbled his left hand automatically rubbing his right hand looking for the ring even though he didn't wear it. "Wanted...wanted my help to Stop Erazor Djinn from destroying the book."

"Tell me what happened..."

…..

Tails saw Shadow look back, a bit surprised that he could keep up so well. The little Kitsune kit tried and failed to hide a smug grin. He surprised Sonic in the same way the first time. He didn't necessarily fly as fast as the two hedgehogs, but once he figured out how he could fly, he learned all he could about the physics and mechanics of flying. He used the backwash from their running to pace them with very little effort. He knew that impressing Shadow was always a good thing. The stronger you appeared to him, the more he respected you.

Once they arrived at Tails' workshop, he reached down and picked the golden rope that lay across the doorway, and slipped it into his tool belt. "Before I left I gave Sonic some herbs that Kitsune use if they've had spirit wounds. It takes the pain away but it makes you kind of loopy. He probably won't give us too much trouble."

"Good," Shadow said sounding satisfied. "I have a few methods of rendering someone unconscious harmlessly. He might wake later with a headache, but it will save us trouble now."

"You're forgiven in advance," Tails said with a smile. He opened the door to the workshop, and led Shadow to the living space in the back. Tails put his hand on the door to the den, but suddenly Shadow placed his hand on Tails' and hushed him with his free hand. He tapped his ear indicating that he heard something. Understanding Tails nodded and waited quiet. He heard voices in the room, but he couldn't figure out who, or what they were talking about. Shadow's enhanced hearing must have been able to pick out the conversation, because his expression kept changing while he listened intently.

Finally, Shadow moved Tails' hand from the doorknob, and slowly opened the door himself. In the room, Tails saw Sonic lying on the couch with his head in Amy's lap. She had her hands on his temples tracing small circles rhythmically.

Sonic looked completely asleep. His chest rose and fell slowly in deep breaths. His eyes closed and his face relaxed, except for the fact that he was talking to Amy.

"I...I was just so mad. She _loved_ him, but he used her, and killed her, and all he cared about were those stupid _rings_. I...I don't know what happened then three of the rings popped out of him and I guess they were made of energy and I just absorbed them. I…I could feel Shara with me, and I used her energy and the energy from the rings, but I felt so angry when I did it. I...I couldn't stand it. I don't know how I did it, but I forced the rings out of me. Shara...Shara somehow restored the lamp, and once I knew I could get him to give me three wishes I used them to fix everything."

Amy ever so gently, while still stimulating the spot on his temples, whispered, "So everything turned out all right. There isn't anything to worry about."

" 'cept me," the dozing hedgehog said a disturbed unhappy crease formed between his eyes. "I thought at first it was just the rings, and not me, but it happened again with Chip, and Dark Gaia. I...I felt different. I couldn't even tell when it was happening, but later when I was me again, I'd wonder why I ran into those fights. Why did I enjoy them so much? Why did I toss Chip like that in Chun Nan? He didn't deserve that."

"You told me you dreamed of Chip recently," Amy told him. "You know he didn't blame you for anything you did then. He was grateful for your help. He knew about the energies of Dark Gaia."

"But it's happened even without Dark Gaia energy," Sonic said. He still looked sleepy and relaxed, but also distressed. His whole body shivered, and he didn't say anything else.

Shadow managed to catch Amy's eye. She blinked surprised at their presence, but Shadow gestured for her to stay put and continue. Slowly he mouthed to her, _Black Narcissus._ Amy nodded. She whispered to Sonic. "You're talking about Black Narcissus aren't you?"

Tears started to form in Sonic's closed eyes. "He _hurt _him! He hurt Chris on purpose because he wanted too! He enjoyed hurting them. He would have tortured them if I refused his stupid experiment!"

Amy with a worried frown on her face moved temporarily from Sonic's temples to the highly sensitive backs of his ears. "But you didn't let that happen."

Sonic's breathing deepened when Amy switched pressure points, but his unhappy frown remained. "I...I absorbed the energies of the fake Chaos Emeralds. I knew the energies were bad. I felt it the moment I got in there, but I didn't care anymore. I trashed both those stupid robots, and I would have gone after him next if Egg man hadn't talked me down out of the power high. I wanted to _hurt _him the way he hurt Chris. I wanted to _kill_ him; I never wanted to kill anyone before."

Tails saw Shadow wince. Amy now had tears in her eyes, and Tails felt his own eyes water in response. He understood now why Sonic hid the nightmares from his own mind. The very idea that Sonic would want to hurt much less kill anyone was so foreign to his nature the very idea that he experienced the emotions at all was enough to make him ill.

Tails knew that Amy or someone needed to give Sonic a positive suggestion to get him to let this go, but Amy looked like she didn't have a clue what to say. Tails didn't know what to say either.

Shadow took in a deep breath and moved forward to kneel at Sonic's side. He took Sonic's hand and closed his eyes in concentration. Tails watched Sonic's expression go from puzzled to surprised, to a relief he did not understand. To his surprise, Amy had a puzzled listening pose.

"Don't stop what you're doing Amy," Tails advised her. "I'm not sure what Shadow is doing, but we need Sonic to stay relaxed through it."

Amy nodded. "I...I think he's talking to Sonic somehow, but not with words or even thoughts. It's more like he's talking with his feelings, but I can't pick up what Shadow is sending, only how Sonic feels about it."

"I'm not good with thought energy at all," Tails, reminded her. "How is Sonic feeling now?"

Amy frowned in concentration. "Better," she said with relief. "Sonic seems to be connecting with what Shadow is telling him. I...I never knew how bad it was for him on the Meterex ship."

"Neither did I," Tails admitted. "I would have addressed it right after it happened, or made sure Sonic visited Cobbler when we got back."

Sonic and Shadow stayed locked in their silent communion for five more minutes without moving. Then suddenly Sonic's hand in Shadow's tightened up slightly. Shadow opened his eyes, and lifted his head, but still kept his attention on Sonic. Sonic blinked a few times, but simply couldn't keep his eyes open. "Shadow...sorry," he mumbled."

"Never you mind idiot," Shadow said gently. He gestured for Amy to stop rubbing his temples. "Just sleep for now."

Sonic gave out a huge yawn. "Yeah am kind of tired. Be...be nice to take _yawn_ a little nap." With that, Sonic took a deep breath, and relaxed all over falling asleep instantly.

Shadow frowned at Sonic. Tails didn't know why until he realized that Amy still had Sonic's head in her lap. She looked down at Sonic with an expression that told Tails she didn't have the heart to disturb him again. Amy, noticing Shadow's expression said. "It's all right Shadow. I'll stay with Sonic and watch out for him for a while." Looking down at her blue hero with adoration, Amy affectionately began to scratch at the base of Sonic's quills causing the unconscious hedgehog to purr in response."

Shadow rose to his feet, turned away from the couch, and began to leave. Tails hurried to catch up.

"Shadow wait, what happened?" Tails asked once he chased Shadow into the kitchen.

Shadow stopped, looked at Tails then went into his refrigerator for the pitcher of water. Grateful that Shadow decided to stay and talk, Tails gave him a drinking glass. Shadow nodded his thanks, filled the glass, drank, then filled and drank again. He filled the glass for the third time, but the sat down at the kitchen table, and stared at the water deep in thought.

Tails cleared his throat nervously and said, "Cobbler told me that you and Sonic are connected on some spiritual level. That's why you can hear each other's thoughts so clearly even if you're separated by great distances."

Shadow looked at Tails sharply. "And when were you going to tell me this?"

Tails shrugged. "Ever since the hurricane I've been in communication with Cobbler. She told me you'd be able to help Sonic once he admitted he had a problem."

"I was told that also," Shadow said thoughtfully.

Tails couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "Shadow what did you tell Sonic? Amy knew you were 'talking' to him, but she couldn't hear what you told him."

Shadow sighed and didn't say anything for a few minutes. Tails began to wonder if he offended Shadow, but then Shadow asked, "did Cobbler ever explain to you why she calls me Sonic's reflection?"

Tails didn't expect the question. "Honestly it never occurred to me to ask. It just sort of fit you both."

Shadow nodded. Sonic and I are very similar in a lot of ways. Our recent trip to his home showed us this. I better than anyone can understand the turmoil Sonic felt. I simply gave him permission to feel it."

Tails sighed. "I wish he would have talked to me." Shadow shook his head.

"He would not have, not about this," Shadow explained. "He would have thought you too young. You most likely have never gone through such an experience, and would not understand the emotions."

"Not to the extent you have no," Tails agreed. "But then he should have gone to Cobbler when he first started having nightmares. She would have understood."

"Perhaps," Shadow said. Then he asked, "Do you still think he needs to make the excursion to your-"

"To Cobbler," Tails interrupted with a warning in his eye. Trust Shadow to remember that he and Cobbler were related. Then before Shadow could ask any more questions Tails said. "I'll have to send her some messages, but if what you told him sticks in his head he might not have to."

"If between the herbs, and the acupressure, he still remembers the experience," Shadow said with a huff.

Tails chuckled. "The funny thing about those particular herbs is even though you feel out of it and are vulnerable to suggestion; you have very clear memories afterwards. I just never had a good enough excuse to give them to Sonic until you gave him spirit wounds in the dreamscape."

Shadow frowned at that. "How exactly did that work? We were both dreaming. I remember vaguely knowing somehow that I would not truly hurt Sonic if I attacked him there."

"It's hard to explain," Tails said. "You dreamed a physical attack, and while those will cause Sonic to feel like it happened, it won't leave scarring wounds on his spirit. You spend a lot of time in The Dreamscape so you probably knew that without knowing why. Mind you there are dark spirits that really can injure or even destroy your spirit, which is why you have to be careful in the dreamscape anyway."

"So dreaming I attacked Sonic gave him pain, but did not truly hurt him." Shadow couldn't resist the smile that crept up his face. "Any time you need that idiot put in his place let me know. I will be happy to give you an opportunity to use kitsune medicine on him."

Tails laughed. "Hopefully not too often, or Sonic will get wise to it. Just remember you both have to be in The Dreamscape at the same time to do so, and remember if Sonic realizes he's dreaming he'll be able to fight back."

"But he will have to realize it first," Shadow replied. "Considering how long it took him to find out about The Seven and his connection to The Spirit of Air it will be another twenty years before he learns how to fight in The Dreamscape"

Tails giggled. "You know what Shadow? You might be right. "

Coming Soon:

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Shadow said absently while he continued carving.

_Huh? _While understanding that Shadow saw and knew he was awake, the phrase seemed to come from left field. Still Shadow expected him to understand. "Care to rephrase that in poor uneducated Mobian Hedgehog?"


	28. Sonic: Lessons Learned

**To Catch a Blue bird **

**By Kellie Fay **

Ahhh Last Chapter only the Epilogue left my friends. Reviews are always welcome!

CHAPTER: 27 Lessons Learned.

The first thing Sonic felt dredging upward through the layers of sleep was relief. Whatever spell Amy put on him, allowed him to finally talk about his nightmare. Part of his mind acted like it had been on autopilot answering whoever spoke to him without too much thought, but the part of his mind that could never recall the dreams listened too. Once he heard himself talk about the dreams, he remembered. At first, he remembered how angry he felt and then he felt that horrible fear that one day he might lose control of his temper again and truly hurt someone. He knew that's why he kept having nightmares about Amy. If the Djinn had killed her...still Sonic pushed away from the thought.

Suddenly He felt Shadow in his mind. An image came to him, not of a blond in a dress, but of a happy red head in a flight suit. The image of the girl turned into one where she cried and flew her plane attacking a huge fleet of Meterex ships. He saw through Shadow's eyes the girl and her ship explode then he felt the rage well up inside the ebony hedgehog. He discarded his limiter rings and with the power within a single Chaos Emerald destroyed the entire fleet.

_You are not alone; _the powerful mental image told him. _I told you, no one rescued those I chose to protect. I too have felt the desire to destroy those who harmed my charges. We have every right to feel that way. What's more, I did not hold back. You have._

_Only cuz you made me._ Sonic replied. The memory still fresh in his mind made him smile when he opened his eyes to see Shadow resting on the opposite end of the couch carving something from a block of wood. The intense concentration on his face made Sonic hold still lest he disturb his dark reflection.

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Shadow said absently while he continued carving.

_Huh? _While understanding that Shadow saw and knew he was awake, the phrase seemed to come from left field. Still Shadow expected him to understand. "Care to rephrase that in poor uneducated Mobian Hedgehog?"

Shadow smirked. "A human philosopher said it a long time ago. I believe his name was Nietzsche. The professor gave me a thorough education in not only weapons and tactics, but also the liberal arts, sciences, and philosophy. He wished me to be more than a mere weapon, and at least as educated as Maria."

Sonic shrugged, but then mulled the quote over in his head. "I guess it does fit what I've been going through. Maybe I should have gone to visit Cobbler."

"I believe the cub still wishes for you to do so," Shadow said not looking up from his carving. "But if you are now thinking about it, I suppose that means you are feeling better."

Sonic plopped his head back down on the cushion. "I guess, at least Amy got me to remember those stupid dreams." Suddenly Sonic picked up his head again, and looked around. "Wait, where's Amy?"

"Shhhh, she's right there," Shadow pointed with his knife at a pile of cushions on the floor. Sonic froze for a second afraid that they might wake her. Shadow looked at Sonic puzzled for a second then placing his knife and wood on the coffee table, gestured for Sonic to follow him.

Once outside Sonic felt confused. He didn't seem to know where to begin. Finally, he said, "I never hated anybody before."

"Not even Doctor Eggman?" Shadow asked.

Sonic looked at Shadow totally confused. "Of course not! Where did you get that idea from?"

Now Shadow didn't understand. "You and he have been fighting for a very long time."

"Yeah, but I don't hate him!" Sonic insisted. "I wouldn't have any problem with Eggman at all if he would stop putting rabbits, flickys and piglets in his machines, and stay out of occupied territories, but if he goes messing with other people I'm gonna stop him."

"Even when he tried to have you killed aboard the Ark?" Shadow asked.

Sonic shrugged. "The way he saw it I was in his way. After all that time on Earth, I kind of understood him better. Humans like to be in control of things. I mean I know he doesn't really hate me. He may have tried to kill me, but when the Meterex tried to destroy the Blue Typhoon he did something to make the fleet go away, and he warned us too. He just never figured out how we live here. Between me and him, it was never personal. he'd mess with people I'd stop him; he'd try to stop or get rid of me. It's just the way we rolled."

Shadow shook his head amazed. "As I have said before I think you are a puzzlement to yourself, Sonic."

Sonic laughed. "In that case I'd better go visit someone used to puzzles.

….

In the end, Sonic went to Cobbler. In a way, it was at relief to visit the old Kitsune sorcerous. He didn't remember what spells she laid on him when they first met, but he felt safe around the old vixen. Things he didn't want to tell Tails or even Shadow became easy to talk about. She knew why he hid the nightmares from his own memory.

"Ye never wanted to bring harm to another. Not that the devil didn't deserve it from what ye tells me, ye hated yourself for the very thought, so any and all to do with it ye locked away within ye, but locking away the thoughts didn't let ye deal with it."

Sonic nodded accepting the lesson. "How can I stop it from happening again?"

"Ye'd have to stop fighting the evil in the world, and mind yer own business." Cobbler told him, "and ye know as we'll as I how likely yer are able to do that!"

Sonic sighed, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster," he said remembering what Shadow said. "I did feel like a monster, and I never want to feel like that again, and now you're telling me the only way to keep it from happening is to stop helping people?"

Cobbler reached out with her staff and gently picked up Sonic's chin so he would look directly at her. "Now you listen to me laddie. The reason ye got that mad in the first place was because yer love for those you protect burns hot and strong. Did ye never wonder why the Djinn's flaming arrow never vanquished ye? Yer love of others and of life itself burns so hot that no mere arrow could snuff that passion for life out. The deeper yer love for others the angrier you will become when the forces of darkness harm them.

"You mean the more I care about others the angrier I'll get when some creep hurts them." Sonic asked. When the aged kitsune nodded, Sonic frowned dissatisfied. "I can't stop caring!" He protested.

"I didn't think you could laddie," Cobbler agreed. "So?"

"So I've gotta learn to deal," Sonic said chagrined. Suddenly a thought came to him. "That's why Shadow is the way he is. He acts like he doesn't care about anyone, but it's because he's scared to. He loved Maria, and she was killed. Shadow is afraid to care about others because he doesn't want to get hurt again." Suddenly a thought came to Sonic. "Shadow and Amy have been really chummy lately. You wouldn't happen to know what's going on between them would you?"

THWACK! The knobbed end of Cobbler's staff came down hard on top of Sonic's head. Chastised like that several times before Sonic rubbed his bruised skull and glared at the old Kitsune Priestess.

"Ow! Okay what was that for?" He asked

"Yer a fool lad. The girl went and stood before death for you. Ye knows she loves ye!"

Sonic sighed and continued to rub his bruised skull. Old or not Cobbler was strong! "I know," he said, "it's just that even before her brother showed up. Amy's been acting funny, and now it's weirder. It's like she can practically read my mind now. She knows what I'm thinking before I even do, and she's so quiet. I keep seeing her with Shadow now though. I didn't think they were such good friends."

Suddenly Sonic found himself a passenger within Shadow's mind. It happened a few times before for no reason either hedgehog could come up with. The first time it happened right after Shadow's vision quest. Cobbler helped him with that, and Sonic suspected that the old kitsune sorceress awakened something in his ebony reflection that she knew already existed in his mind. They would both be suddenly aware of the other's thoughts, and even where they were and what they were doing.

He could feel Shadow comfortably perched in the towering oak tree that overshadowed the north end of Amy's garden, with Cream held securely in his arms. They both watched Amy in her garden apparently talking to no one at all. _No, the moment he thought it he could tell he was wrong. _Shadow could sense something unseen in the garden with Amy. It tingled in a pleasant way to Shadow's Chaos Sense. Never aware before how keen Shadow's senses were, Sonic simply waited and listened.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of knowing exactly what Sonic is feeling. It feels like I'm invading his privacy or something. Really, but he- Oh that's good to know. That's good too. It could get distracting after a while, but I'll still be able to tell if he has a nightmare or is upset, right? Oh no I don't mind at all. It was my choice right, and I sort of feel like I owed him for all the trouble I caused, and besides I love him."

Somehow the one sided conversation confirmed something in Shadow's mind. With a feeling of resignation, Shadow tightened his grip on Cream and teleported them both to Tails workshop.

Sonic could tell that something troubled his best friend. He looked busy at his workbench, but Sonic knew that Tails seemed to be wrapped up in some internal problem. He kept fiddling with the same five screws. He looked up the instant Shadow and Cream materialized in the workshop. Before Tails could even open his mouth Shadow put Cream on the floor turned to her and knelt to look her in the eye.

"What did you see?" He asked.

Cream frowned clearly puzzled. "I'm not really sure what I saw Shadow. She was really pretty, but sometimes she looked like a hedgehog, and other times she looked like a rabbit, and sometimes she just looked like blue and pink clouds."

Shadow closed his eyes leaving Sonic only to see Shadow's mental image of the statue dedicated to the Spirit of Air. "That sounds very like the statue we saw that represented the Spirit of Air."

"So the Spirit of Air is friends with Amy now?" Cream asked.

"I think there is more to it than that," Tails said worriedly. "I think Knuckles is right. Somehow Amy bound herself to The Spirit of Air when you and Sonic weren't looking."

_Amy did WHAT? _Sonic thought. Unfortunately his shocked question brought Shadow's attention to his mental stowaway."

_GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD YOU BLUE SPIKED SPY! _Shadow thought furious. Somehow, Shadow managed to force Sonic out of his mind. He awoke back with Cobbler in her chao garden with a horrible headache.

"Ow! What did you do that for, Cobbler? Shadow is going to kill me when I get home."

"What makes ye think I had anything to do with that?" The old Kitsune demanded.

Sonic respected the old sorcerous, but he hated when she played head games with him. "Oh gee I don't know, the first time I got into Shadow's head he was here with you, and now it just happened again. Do you have any idea what he's going to do to me when I get home?"

"Tis not my doing that ye both touch each other's minds with ease." Cobbler insisted. "Ye are both at times opposites, and yet ye are very much the same. Through the blood ye shared, and the trials ye faced the two of ye formed a strong spirit bond. That makes it easy for yer spirits to connect especially when yer thinking of each other, or if yer thinking of the same things."

"Okay that makes sense then," Sonic said. "We were both thinking of Amy. He is still going to try to pound me into the ground for getting in his head though, but Cobbler Shadow was thinking about something Knuckles told him. That somehow Amy got herself bound to the Spirit of the Air. When did that happen, and why?"

Cobbler chuckled. "If ye wants to know the answer to that question laddy then ye had best go ask the lady yerself."

Sonic eyed Cobbler suspiciously. "Are you cutting me loose then? Am I done here?"

"Have ye learned what ye needs t' learn, lad?" Cobbler asked him.

Sonic thought about that question carefully. "Those times when dark energy changed me had more to do with my temper, and my emotions than the energy itself. I can't ignore those dark parts of me, and I have to deal with it if it ever happens again." He looked up at Cobbler hopefully. "Did I miss anything?"

Cobbler smiled gently down at Sonic. "Nay lad, yer free t' go, but if ye still have problems with yer dreams -"

"I'll come right back, if Shadow hasn't killed me before that. Hey you wouldn't want to hex him so he won't kill me?"

Sonic knew the question was disrespectful, but he dodged out of the way of Cobbler's staff before she could knock him upside the head again.

"Sorry, couldn't resist trying," Sonic said grinning with glee. "See ya Cobbler!" With that Sonic ran out of the chao garden, and out of the town heading for home.

Half way home Sonic decided to deal with an angry Shadow first. Once he apologized to his ebony reflection he could find out exactly what Knuckles said, and what the echidna guardian knew.

Sonic, sensing that Shadow was in his home, raced there first and let himself in. When he didn't see his ebony reflection anywhere, he realized that Shadow must be in the extra room, and Sonic was not about to take his life into his hands and disturb him there. So he plopped himself onto one of Shadow's chairs and propped his feet up on the table to wait for him.

Sonic just began to doze when he heard the door to Shadow's spare room open. Sonic held still and decided to feign sleep. Shadow might be angry with him, but if you stood your ground, and didn't show fear Shadow would treat you as an equal.

Sonic heard Shadow cross the room in three steps and pause. "You!" He shouted obviously still angry.

Sonic opened one eye and regarded Shadow coolly. "Not my fault Shadow. Cobbler said we tend to link up in our heads when we're thinking about the same things, and I was thinking about Amy. Now what did Knuckles say about Amy being bound to the Spirit of Air?"

Shadow frowned and Sonic sensed that Shadow really did not want to discuss Amy at all with him. Shadow himself had too many questions about Amy with no answers. He did not want to answer Sonic's questions.

"Why don't you. Go ask Knuckles?" Shadow said flatly.

Again Sonic decided to play it cool. "You don't usually try to avoid a direct question Shadow, what's up?"

"Nothing is up," Shadow insisted folding his arms across his chest. "It's just that I'm not sure what is going on with Amy either. There is something different about her, but I cannot pinpoint what has changed."

Sonic nodded understanding. Shadow would never give out information he wasn't certain of. "But Knuckles told you and Tails that Amy is bound to the Spirit of Air now," he asked.

Shadow frowned, but nodded. While you were away Amy and I went up to Angel Island to give him supplies. As soon as he could get us separated, he asked me how in Chaos did she get bound. I...I don't know how it happened. She never left my side the entire time we were in your parents' village."

Sonic sighed. "Then maybe Cobbler is right. I need to ask Amy." He got up from the chair. "Later Shadow!" He said racing back to the village.

He paused a few yards from Amy's house, and emulated Shadow in hiding up in the oak tree that overshadowed her yard watching Amy tend her garden. Even though he didn't make a sound, within a minute Amy looked up directly into the tree puzzled. "Sonic?" She asked surprised. "When did you get back?"

"Just a little while ago," Sonic answered her honestly hoping she would be honest. "And before you ask Cobbler did say I could go. I might have stayed a little longer but I heard a wild rumor that I had to check out." Sonic eyed Amy warily. He didn't want to get Shadow or Knuckles in trouble with Amy. Even if she didn't tell him anything, he wanted her to be able to tell them. Trying to appear cool and collected he asked, "did Shadow ever tell you how our heads are connected?"

Amy frowned confused for a moment. "Shadow did mention once that he always seem to know where you are and what you're doing."

Sonic nodded. "It goes both ways. If we're thinking about each other I know where Shadow is and what he's doing." Sonic paused for a moment to let Amy digest this then added, "we also tend to link in our heads when we're thinking about the same thing, and lately Shadow has been thinking about you."

There was no doubt about it. Sonic heard a faint tremble in Amy's voice as she answered. "Me? Why would Shadow be thinking about me?"

Sonic tried to keep his voice steady, but he surprised himself with the flash of jealousy he felt when he spoke. "I dunno you and Shadow were getting real chummy just before the hurricane. The other day he and Cream saw you talking to a spirit that looked like the statue we saw in the chamber of the Spirit of Air."

Now he saw Amy tense up. "They could see her?" Amy asked surprised.

"Cream can see spirits remember. She saw me when I was out of body the time I got poisoned." Sonic didn't remember any of that, but Cream, Shadow and Knuckles told him all about it. He had no idea why, but he believed them. It made perfect sense to him. He wanted to remind Amy of that fact though. He wanted her to answer his next set of questions.

"Oh," Amy's said quietly. Sonic wished he could sense her thought energy the way he sensed Shadow's.

Sonic took in a deep breath and plowed ahead. "Amy, Knuckles told Tails and Shadow that somehow you got bound to the Spirit of Air, and Shadow insists you never left his side except for when Jayce kidnapped you, and I was already there. So I gotta wonder when that happened." Sonic noticed the familiar fire in Amy's eyes, and added, "mind you none of them _told_ me any of this. I found out because I linked up to Shadow's head when he thought about it, and don't say you don't remember. Before I slipped over here I asked Tails, and he told me regardless if you bonded to the Spirit of air it's a pretty big deal and you would remember it."

Sonic watched Amy flush in embarrassment and anger. "I don't see it any business of yours who I make promises too," Amy said trying to sound proud and bossy like always, but something in Sonic's gut told him that she was trying to put him off.

"It is if it's my fault you made those promises," Sonic shot back. He knew had to ask her a question he didn't really want answered, but Cobbler told him he wouldn't be able to conquer his nightmares unless he got this answer. "Amy, out there when Erazor Djinn shot at me, and you jumped between us...did you die?"

Amy flushed again but this time her eyes showed fear. "W...what are you talking about Sonic? I'm right here!" she stammered, but Sonic refused to let her put him off. He needed this answer.

"Yes or no Amy. I can't sleep at night, and when I do sleep all I dream about is you dying. I won't be able to shake this if I don't know for sure. Did you die? And if you did, did the Spirit of air bring you back for me?"

Amy sighed and closed her eyes. "Amu offered to bring me back because I had to fix a mistake I made. I thought my dying wouldn't matter to anyone."

"Wouldn't..." Sonic found himself chocking on the words. "Amy are you crazy? I almost went off the deep end right there and then!"

"I know, like I said it was a mistake," Amy replied calmly. "I thought that because you were bound to The Spirit of Air you really couldn't have a relationship with Mmph!"

Sonic acting on impulse suddenly grabbed both of Amy's hands in his, pulled her close, and kissed her fiercely and passionately on her mouth. Before she could catch her breath Sonic said formally "Amy Rose, this hedgehog does not let anything stop him from doing exactly as he pleases; not my dad, not Eggman, not an army of killer robots, not a planet full of humans, and rules, not any number of evil spirits and god monsters, not even a grumpy ultimate life form. What in two worlds made you think I was going to let a spirit dictate how I feel?" While Amy looked at Sonic shocked, and still confused over the kiss, he drew her into his arms for a huge tight possessive hug. "Amy, I'm still not sure if I feel the way you want me to feel about you, but I know that I care about you, and it would kill me or drive me over the edge to lose you. I can't promise I won't keep running off. There's just something inside me that keeps me moving, but as long as your here I promise I'll always come back to you."

"Oh Sonic," Amy began to hug him back. "I promise I'll wait for you for as long as you want me to. I'd wait for you forever."

Sonic chuckled, and gently kissed the top of her head. "Forever is a long time coming," he said philosophically, "you know me, Amy. I like to live in the moment, and right now this moment is pretty good."

For some reason he didn't feel like letting Amy go, and she didn't complain about him hanging onto her. Later Cream came over to borrow some eggs and milk to make cookies, and found both Amy and Sonic curled up together in the garden sound asleep. Cream quickly hushed Cheese who almost burst out laughing, and quietly slipped into the house herself to gather the ingredients herself. She couldn't wait to tell Shadow that Project Bluebird was a success.


	29. Epilouge

**To Catch a Bluebird **

**By Kellie Fay **

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. Make sure you check out my other stories and please as always leave a review. **

**Epilogue **

Knuckles shook his head and pointed at the tablet in Shadow's hands. "No the ends are pointed upwards. This glyph means water." The Echidna guardian said.

Shadow frowned in concentration, and compared the carving to the one for daughter. He noted the difference and continued to translate the tablet.

In an effort to know more about the legends and history of Möbius Shadow asked Knuckles to teach him how to read the ruins and carvings that he saw around Angel Island. It turned out that Knuckles could read the ruins of three groups of people's including kitsune, and Shadow definitely wanted to know more about Tails and his connection to the Kitsune royal family. So every other day Shadow would teleport himself up to Angel island for a lesson in ancient ruins.

"So the chief's daughter found the little peoples and the greater spirit of water who ..." Shadow paused at the unfamiliar carving, and looked to Knuckles for help.

"Guarded them," Knuckles translated. Then added, "you're doing really well Shadow hieroglyphics like this are very hard to learn."

Shadow shrugged. "The professor taught me to read Egyptian hieroglyphs but these are very different, and I suppose there are a lot of glyphs to learn."

Knuckles chuckled. "Several thousand I'm afraid, but you're really picking it up fast."

"Comes with being The Ultimate Life Form," Shadow replied. "The professor designed me to have an accelerated ability to learn, and memorize. Perhaps I should create a set of flash cards to help me with the different words."

"That's a good idea," Knuckles agreed.

At that moment, Shadow heard the sound of a plane engine. "Are you expecting Tails by any chance? I believe I hear the Tornado."

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah he might be bringing Cream up with him. I figured as long as I'm teaching you glyphs I might as well teach her, or better yet I'll set you up to teach her. You'll both learn that way. Oh and if you make those flash cards make a set for her too."

The rest of the lesson was postponed until Tails, Cream, and Cheese could join them. Once there Cream charmed Shadow into letting her sit on his lap, so she could easily see the tablet they were reading.

Once Shadow and Cream were occupied by the tablet Knuckles asked, "Hey Tails, is Sonic okay? His visits have dropped off a bit."

"He was here two days ago wasn't he?" Tails asked suddenly worried.

Knuckles frowned thinking, "yeah, but he didn't stay very long. In fact, his last three trips up here were short. It's like he's just checking up on me and then he's rushing off to do something else."

Tails and Cream exchanged a glance and both giggled. That caught Shadow's attention. "All right you two, what's up?" Shadow asked.

Tails blushed slightly still giggling quietly. Cream's smile broadened, and she said, "Mr. Sonic took Amy out to the Hilltop Mountains for a picnic. He's been spending lots of time with her."

Knuckles blinked surprised. "Sonic is spending time with Amy willingly?"

Now Shadow couldn't help but chuckle. "It's amazing how almost losing something makes you realize exactly how much you want it." He said.

"He's definitely been more clingy with Amy lately," Tails said. Then added, "Well clingy for Sonic, which is funny because lately Amy has been less clingy."

"It sounds like Project Bluebird worked really well Shadow!" Cream said.

Shadow shrugged, "I think that mess in Sonic's home village did more than my challenge to Amy, but I'm satisfied that it worked out. I believe that if the Spirit of Air did give Amy some gift or power, it gave her the skills I tried to teach her to coax and win Sonic, not that he needs much coaxing anymore."

"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Knuckles said with a laugh. "The Ultimate Life form playing matchmaker."

Shadow snorted at the suggestion. "All I wanted was peace in the village this summer, and now we will have it."

"Everybody is going to have more peace this summer," Tails said with a smile. "Even Sonic, I don't think he's had a single nightmare since he got back from Cobbler."

Knuckles sighed relieved. "Sounds like Sonic is back to his old self, but I'll need to test him to see if he will still reject darker energies."

"All right," Tails agreed reluctantly, "but can we wait a week or two before you do? I'd like Sonic to be able to enjoy some peace and quiet with Amy for a while. He deserves it."

Privately Shadow agreed with the little kitsune kit. Sonic at peace was something to be cherished for a while. While Sonic and Amy were at peace, the rest of their circle of friends would be at peace too.

And two weeks of peace and quiet was one of the few things that would put a smile on the face of Shadow the hedgehog.


End file.
